Description and research notes
This 1966 National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited 5 Pounds issued note represents the completed circulation form of the bank's mid-twentieth-century sterling design, cataloged as Pick 272a. Dated Edinburgh, 4th January 1966, and bearing serial number L247675, the note belongs to the 1963-1966 issue period and was printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company. PMG grades the note 58 Choice About Uncirculated, preserving the design at a high level for a denomination that functioned as practical banking currency rather than as presentation material.
The face is centered on the formal promise-to-pay obligation of National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited. The bank title dominates the upper field, with the Five Pounds denomination set below in large serif lettering and repeated through ornamental counters at the corners and left-center panel. Edinburgh is named directly in the date line, tying the note to Scotland's capital and to the bank's institutional center. The serial number L247675 appears at both upper right and lower left, completing the issued-note structure.
The lower face carries the bank's armorial device, with heraldic supporters and motto beneath the central obligation. This use of arms gives the note a formal institutional presence, linking the printed currency to the legal and commercial authority of the issuing bank. The fine guilloche work, patterned security fields, and structured border engraving reflect the Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company production style used for British and Commonwealth banknote work during the period.
The reverse presents an engraved Edinburgh city view centered on the Castle and surrounding architectural landscape. The scene is more than decorative: it anchors the note visually in Scotland's national and financial setting, balancing the legal promise of the face with a civic image of historical continuity, capital authority, and urban permanence. The large oval reserve contains the Man's Head watermark, visible when backlit, adding a portrait-style paper security feature beneath the reverse design.
As an issued 5 Pounds note graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated, this example preserves the completed Pick 272a design with strong visual clarity, original presentation, and clear watermark evidence. It also serves as the finished-note counterpart to the photographic back proof material for the same National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited 5 Pounds design group, showing how the approved face, watermark, serial system, and Edinburgh reverse came together in the final issued banknote.