Royal Bank of Scotland unveils design of first polymer £20 note
Source: RBS
Royal Bank of Scotland has unveiled the design of its first £20 polymer note. Featuring the image of historic Scottish entrepreneur Kate Cranston, the note was revealed at her legendary tearoom in Glasgow – Mackintosh at the Willow.
Kate Cranston, from Glasgow, made her mark with her series of tearooms across the city. Her flagship venue at 217 Sauchiehall Street, is celebrated by architects and designers due to the interior designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The tearooms made a cultural impact during her life due to offering venues where women could enter unchaperoned. Following her death in 1934, her fortune was left to support the poor and the homeless in the city.
In keeping with the Fabric of Nature theme, the new £20 features illustrations of red squirrels on its reverse and also features the blaeberry fruit. It also includes extracts from 16th century Scottish poet Mark Alexander Boyd’s work, Cupid and Venus. The new note will carry the same exclusive weave pattern developed by textile designers Alistair McDade and Elspeth Anderson for the £5 and £10 polymer notes.
The £20 is the third in a series of ‘Fabric of Nature’ themed notes made from De La Rue’s Safeguard® polymer material and will also contain a variety of new security features, making it difficult to counterfeit but easy to authenticate.
The polymer £20 note is set for issue in 2020 and will follow the £5 polymer note, which was launched in 2016 and features poet Nan Shepherd, and the £10 polymer which was launched in 2017 and includes the portrait of scientist Mary Somerville.
Malcolm Buchanan, chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, with the new £20 note
Image: RBS
