The Bank of Scotland has unveiled the design of its new polymer £50 note which will enter circulation on the 1st of July 2021. Keen-eyed note holders will first notice the change in colour from traditional green to red. Evolving the existing “Bridge Series”, a new image of the world’s first and only rotating boat lift, the Falkirk Wheel, will be visible on the reverse. For the first time, the famous Falkirk structure will be joined by an image of the shape-shifting water spirits, The Kelpies. The two 300-tonne horses’ heads have been added to the £50 note in celebration of the contribution of horses to the history of Scotland. Furthermore, a new UV feature depicts a horse pulling a canal barge, one of the ways horses shaped the geographical layout of the Falkirk area.
Bank of Scotland’s new £50 notes feature the poem Steam Barge, by William Muir. It was written after he saw the newly-invented steam boat passing through Scotland’s Grand Canal. The front of the new note portrays the Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott, alongside the image of The Mound in Edinburgh, as the current £50 note does today.
Philip Grant, Chairman of the Scottish Executive Committee, Bank of Scotland, said: “Bank of Scotland has issued bank notes showcasing our country’s rich history for more than 320 years. Our new £50 note, with its images of the majestic Kelpies, the Falkirk Wheel and a poem by William Muir, celebrates the greatness of Scottish culture and engineering achievement. I am very proud to be a signatory on the note, in my role as Treasurer of Bank of Scotland.”