Huh? About the £?

Question

I don't get this. Why is it in the UK there are different types of pounds. In England/Wales they use one type of pound printed by the bank of england, but in scotland/n. ireland there are many types of £s. So can you only use a certain type of £ depending on what bank you belong to,. and can you use the english £s in scotland/n. ireland. Why can't they just have one central bank for the WHOLE country than just england/wales like the rest of the world?Can someone tell me how this whole thing works? Thanks.

Answer 1

WHAT DO YOU MEAN one bank for the country.

Scotland IS a country. It has its own Parliament (unlike England), its own legal system, a different form of religion, its own education system, a different form of the National Health Service AND the legal right to print its own banknotes.

We ARE NOT and NEVER WILL BE part of England. We see no reason to adopt the English form of currency; ours has done us quite well enough for four hundred years.

Answer 2

http://www.rampantscotland.com/SCM/bankn...

there's a lot of history in your question ... read up about it

Answer 3

All Scottish banks have the right to print their own notes. Three choose to do so: The Bank of Scotland (founded 1695), The Royal Bank of Scotland (founded 1727) and the Clydesdale Bank (owned by National Australia Bank). Only the Royal Bank prints pound notes. All the banks print 5,10,20 and 100 notes. Only the Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank print 50 pound notes.

Scottish bank notes are not legal tender in Scotland. English bank notes of denomination less than 5UKP were legal tender in Scotland under Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954. Now, with the removal of BoE 1UKP notes, only coins constitute legal tender in Scotland. English bank notes are only legal tender in England, Wales, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. In Scotland, 1 pound coins are legal tender to any amount, 20ps and 50ps are legal tender up to 10 pounds; 10p and 5ps to 5 pounds and 2p and 1p coins are legal tender to 20p (separately or in combination). 2 pounds coins and (if you can get hold of one) 5 pound coins are also legal tender to unlimited amounts, as are gold coins of the realm at face value (in Scotland at least).

Northern Irish notes are not legal tender anywhere, a situation similar to Scottish notes. Whether Scottish notes are legal tender or not does not change alter their inherent value but it dictates their legal function. Credit cards, cheques and debit cards are not legal tender either but it doesn't stop them being used as payment. Only a minuscule percentage of Scottish and British trading is carried out using legal tender. Just because something is not legal tender certainly doesn't imply it's illegal to use.

Answer 4

I have another subquestion. Why are english £'s in latin (i think) and welsh ones are in welsh(not that i can understand welsh either)? It's wierd. I have a collection of welsh notes and coins.

Where i work in wales we accept Scottish currency. There's more of it then english money.

Answer 5

They have different prints/designs on them but they are the same currency meaning you can use a "Welsh pound note" in Scotland, England or Northen and a "Scottish pound note" in England, Northen Ireland or Wales.

They stand for the same thing.

Hope I helped!

Answer 6

If you're not really into history and want practicalities, here's the story: In England and Wales, you will only encounter Bank of England notes. These are accepted anywhere in the UK, and you will find them everywhere in the UK. In Scotland (and northern parts of Northern England) you will find Scottish banknotes as well as B of E. These are accepted universally in Scotland, usually in northern England, and with some reluctance further south. In Northern Ireland, you will find Northern Ireland banknotes as well as B of E. These will be viewed with extreme suspicion anywhere outside Northern Ireland. They are all worth multiples of £1. A £5 Royal Bank of Scotland note is worth exactly the same as a £5 Bank of England note. That's the way things are. There are good historical reasons for it, which you can read about if you really want to. You may think it's weird, illogical or even incomprehensible but that's part of the charm of going to foreign places. If any of this confuses you, don't even think about going to the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

Answer 7

They're different notes, the currency is the same.