BS: Scots money question

Subject: BS: Scots money question
From: leeneia
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 10:49 AM

I have a five-pound note that my husband brought back from Scotland, who knows when. It is dated 2nd August, 1988 and a picture of Robert Burns on the front. There's a field mouse on the back.

Is the bill any good?

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: catspaw49
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 10:53 AM

LMAO......Sorry, but that bit about the field mouse on the back cracked me up. Makes me wonder what our money and symbols would have looked like if they had taken Franklin's suggestion and made the turkey the National bird.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: leeneia
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 10:58 AM

I dunno why it's there, spaw. It must have had something to do with a best-laid plan.

Subject: Lyr Add: TO A MOUSE, ON TURNING ... (Robert Burns)
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 11:01 AM

To A Mouse
Poem lyrics of To A Mouse by Robert Burns.

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
What makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell -
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me;
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects dreaer!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!


Yes the money's good Leenia
G.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 11:02 AM

Look at the mouse carefully. Would you say it was wee, sleekit, cowrin and tim'rous? If so, the money should be OK.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 11:05 AM

Glok:you beat me by a mouse's whisker!

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 11:07 AM

I thought it was a haggis in its natural habitat. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: PeteBoom
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 11:49 AM

"I thought it was a haggis in its natural habitat."

Well, yes, but the lowland Ayreshire variety, not the true West Hielan' variety which is much larger and typically served up on a platter on Burns Nights 'round the world.

The West Hielan' Haggis have two legs on one side shorter than the legs on the other. They can run like blazes round a mountain top, but only one direction. If they try and go the other way, they tend to roll downhill. The fact that they can run faster than you or your dogs is no cause for concern. Simply get the dogs chasen' 'em, and wait. They'll come round the mountain soon enough - then you'll be assured of fine eating. That also is where that fine old Scottish folk song, since absconded by Americans, came from: "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain." Everyone knows that the female West Hielan' Haggis is the best eating and most desired for Burns Night and other celebrations.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: kendall
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 12:06 PM

I made the mistake of bringing some Scottish money home with me, and the banl wouldn't exchange it. Said I'd have to take it to Boston. What was worse, they told me that if it was English, they would exchange it.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 12:11 PM

You would be sleekit and cow'rin' if somebody had just sliced through your home with a ploughshare!
G.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: leeneia
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 03:29 PM

Words, words, words! I'm so sick of words!

Doesn't anybody here speak Scottish?

kndall "I made the mistake of bringing some Scottish money home with me, and the bank wouldn't exchange it."

What year was that? Was your money dated 1988?

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 03:37 PM

Scots banknotes are readily exchanged in English (and Welsh) banks at face value "quid pro quo!". But are, nonetheless, not 'legal tender'.
And although many Scotsmen (and some bankers) will tell you otherwise, they are not 'legal tender' in Scotland either.

But they are generally accepted, and most businesses in the rest of Britain will also accept them, as they know they can just pay them into their own bank with the takings.

CHEERS
Nigel (ex-banker)

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: weerover
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 03:45 PM

Nigel has it spot on, Scots notes are readily accepted by convention but are not strictly legal tender even in Scotland. Three Scottish banks issue them: Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank. I've seldom had any problem in using them in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (where they also issue their own notes under the same arrangement). I seem to remember I even got banks to change them in the Republic of Ireland.

wr

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: kendall
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 03:51 PM

That was 1990.I kept them as souveniers.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: catspaw49
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 05:52 PM

LOL....And that seems to be their main value!!!

Thanks all for the explanations, uh, such as they are.....

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Grab
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 08:12 PM

A Scots fiver or tenner is usually OK in England. A £20 often tends to get suspicious looks. No-one ever uses £50 notes in the UK (or not for everyday purchases anyway) - £50 notes used to be the favourites of the forgers, and even though they've now had all the new security stuff put on them, most businesses simply won't accept them now.

Bottom line is that businesses are entitled to refuse to serve you if they want - they don't have to take your money. And all a banknote gives you is the promise to exchange it for a given value of coins at a bank, and you may not trust that promise if you don't recognise the organisation making the promise.

Graham.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 08:28 PM

From the Bank Of England website:

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.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 02 Sep 06 - 05:16 AM

You will find if you read this , that Scotland also issues a £100 note. Can you imagine the reaction of a London cabbie if you offered him one in payment for your fare?
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 02 Sep 06 - 05:36 AM

The Burns £5 note is a current note, and worth $7-8. The other Scottish banks have changed their notes series since 1988, so you would probably only be able to do anything with them at the banks head office, here in Edinburgh.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 02 Sep 06 - 05:42 AM

Scottish notes are much prettier than our crappy English ones. Let's do away with the English stuff and all use Scottish notes.
S:0)

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: robomatic
Date: 02 Sep 06 - 06:43 PM

I can only shake my head in wonder at a country which readily accepts pieces of paper which are known to be 'not legal tender.' The level of infra-verbal understanding to achieve that is truly awe-inspiring. Other than the occasional Canadian loose piece of change, such a thing is incomprehensible in the New World.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 02 Sep 06 - 07:26 PM

I think the thing is that most of us thing of them as being legal tender even though strictly speaking they are not. They are worth the same anyway.

The Republic Of Ireland used to be more intereting. I've never known the Irish money being acceptable in shops over here but I have spent English pounds in Ireland when the pound was worth more then the punt, even got something for "the rate" too.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 03 Sep 06 - 08:25 AM

There's a lot of things about The New World also that are incomprehensible.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: leeneia
Date: 03 Sep 06 - 10:04 AM

So if I mailed this note to the man in Wicklow, Ireland who kindly lets people download Spybot, he would have to travel to Edinburgh and go to the proper bank (Clydesdale Bank PLC) to cash it?

If so, it would not be much of a favor.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Sep 06 - 11:44 AM

Well leeneia, he might well be able to go to his own bank and exchange it but he is has a different curreny. The currency in the Republic of Ireland is the euro.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 03 Sep 06 - 02:07 PM

Robomatic;
What I did not state in my earlier post is that although Scottish banknotes are not legal tender, they are generally accepted as they were always issued on the understanding that the issuing bank held valid Bank of England banknotes in their vaults sufficient to cover all the notes they issued. (these days it may merely be a requirement to hold a balance in an account with The Bank of England for this sum)
In this way, it is always the case that the holder of the Scottish banknote could always insist that the issuing bank exchange it for 'real' money.

In much the same way, the Bank of England (when it first started issuing banknotes) held a sufficient depository of gold to be able to repay these 'promissory notes'. It was only in this way that banknotes became acceptable, otherwise people would have insisted on having their money in gold. This situation ended when England went off the 'Gold Standard' in 1919

CHEERS
Nigel

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: M.Ted
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 01:21 AM

Did you never accept or write a check, Robomatic? Pieces of paper that are not legal tender, on much the same principle--

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 10:47 AM

Giok, you're a prize. I enjoyed the little tour about Scottish banknotes. I gotta go sometime. Don't know how I'll manage--rob a newworld bank maybe?
Hubby has kept an old one dollar bill that is a SILVER CERTIFICATE?!! How many Americans remember those?             Tw

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Wolfgang
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 12:03 PM

The first time I was in Britain I had difficulties paying with Scottish money in London (long ago).

But just two years ago when I brought back one pound of each of the Scottish banks for the fun of it and went to a German bank to get them changed they made it three different transactions, one for the Clydesdale,..... This way they could charge threee times the changing fee.

I never could get changed bank notes from the Faroes outside of Denmark, though this money is accepted in Denmark.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 01:08 PM

Because of the current exchange rate your "fiver" often known as a, DEEP SEA DIVER, will be gaining in value. Check http://www.xe.com/ucc/ for your latest value.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: leeneia
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 02:37 PM

All right, class. Put on your thinking caps.

Assuming that the man who writes Spybot and distributes it world-wide is sophisticated enough to travel short distances, then if he goes to Scotland, has an employee who goes to Scotland, or has a little niece in Scotland who is having a birthday, then would the bank note still be useful currency? (I have seen references to currency changes in the U.K. in recent decades, and I have no idea how many years this note has been in our house.)

Guest, there is no question of going to a bank and exchanging the note. By the time the fees were deducted, there would be nothing left.

Auldtimer, it shouldn't be called a DEEP SEA DIVER, it should be called a WEE TIM'ROUS BEASTIE.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 02:46 PM

Well leenia, a DEEP SEA DIVER is what a fiver is commonly known as in the West of Scotland. Here's one I spent earler!! http://www.rampantscotland.com/SCM/clydecomm.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 02:50 PM

Or if you prefer one with a bear instead of a mouse. Try this http://www.jacksnote.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: Tootler
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 05:08 PM

In my experience you have no problem with Scottish notes in the North of England; but get much south of the Humber...

Subject: RE: BS: Scots money question
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 10:01 AM

Off it goes, then.

Thanks, everybody.