Decimalisation - 40 years ago today

[route101]

I always like using Scottish Notes doon south . Used them in Wales last week
I still havent had the chance of using either a scottish £100 or £1 Note doon south.

 

[me123]

It's best when they take it without really looking at it and just assume it's a fiver

Happened to me once. Gave me £4.30 change. I left him the £4, and took the the 30p. Presumably it was when he was putting the change back in the till that he realised and started chasing after me shouting "we don't accept one pound notes!". But you just did... I kindly pointed to a notice on the wall advising that all sales are final, and he eventually decided to go with it.

I don't get £1 notes very much. Even at work, £100s are much more common. The only real exception to this was when I opened my till and found ten brand new, consecutively numbered £1 notes in there just a few years ago. Dunno if it was a customer, or they'd just found an old pile of them at the back of the safe.

Just to give people an idea of how rare they are, they were last printed about a decade ago in 2001, so all the notes are at least 10 years old and most of them probably destroyed, or in the hands of collectors. I've always wondered if I could still get them at the bank on request; would be fun to go down to England with them again I've actually got a small was of States of Jersey £1 notes I should probably try out at some point (although one's a commemorative note that might actually be worth something).

Interestingly (to pull this back on topic), Scottish banks never issued anything smaller than a £1 note. All the 10s notes were apparently issued by the Bank of England so, there ya go.

 

[Statto]

It was in the mid 80s when the £1 note was phased out, theres a funny Spitting Image clip on Youtube, with the Pound taking a dive, as Lawson phased out the Pound stirling, not Pound note.

 

[Oswyntail]

IIRC, there is no legal obligation on traders to accept Scottish banknotes (even in Scotland). I may also be off beam here, but this might also be true of UK banknotes generally. And, also IIRC, it is nothing to do with "legal tender" but the legal status of the contract between the bank and the person holding the note.

 

[Deerfold]

IIRC, there is no legal obligation on traders to accept Scottish banknotes (even in Scotland). I may also be off beam here, but this might also be true of UK banknotes generally. And, also IIRC, it is nothing to do with "legal tender" but the legal status of the contract between the bank and the person holding the note.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm#16

Are Scottish & Northern Irish notes legal tender?
In short ‘No’ these notes are not legal tender; only Bank of England notes are legal tender but only in England and Wales.
The term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. Legal tender has a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he owes under the terms of a contract, he has good defence in law if he is subsequently sued for non-payment of the debt. In ordinary everyday transactions, the term ‘legal tender’ has very little practical application.

 

[ChrisCooper]

It's best when they take it without really looking at it and just assume it's a fiver

Someone I know who's got a converted bus that he takes around selling photos, models etc at events went up to an event at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum. Someone bought a few photos which came to £1 and gave him a £1 note, so he gave £4 back. The Scotsman then told him his mistake and gave him the £4 back! He then looked in his cash tin and realised there were 3 other £1 notes in with the £5s and he'd thought they were £5s too! He was not at all happy.

 

[me123]

IIRC, there is no legal obligation on traders to accept Scottish banknotes (even in Scotland). I may also be off beam here, but this might also be true of UK banknotes generally. And, also IIRC, it is nothing to do with "legal tender" but the legal status of the contract between the bank and the person holding the note.

Correct. Although English notes are legal tender in England and Wales, they are not in Scotland. Scottish notes are legal tender nowhere. But this is all totally irrelevant.

Scottish and Northern Irish notes are legal currency, which means that they are acceptable alternatives. But nevertheless, it all means nothing and the retailer is perfectly within his or her right to refuse any sale for any reason whatsoever (provided its not in breach of the Equality Act 2010). Of course, they then run the risk of losing the sale (and potentially all future sales from the customer) altogether. Although there's no legal requirement to accept Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes on a par with English notes, there's also no reason whatsoever (other than sheer ignorance) to refuse the notes, except when you suspect it may be counterfeit.