Euros are more readily accepted in England than Scottish currency

Apparently Scottish notes are discriminated against south of the border and need legal protection from er…the Bank of England.

One of the quirks of the Act of Union (1707) - the uniting of the English and Scottish parliaments - was that Scotland retained the right to issue it’s own currency.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland, and the Clydesdale Bank all issue their own bank notes – in fact the Bank of Scotland was the first bank in Europe to successfully issue paper currency redeemable for cash on demand.

The problem is that Scottish notes are not actually legal tender at all.Only English bank notes are legal tender – and then only in England and Wales.

In everyday transactions, the term ‘legal tender’ has little actual practical relevance. Scottish notes, legal tender or not, dictates theirlegal function and does not alter their inherent value. Their acceptability as a means of payment is consequently a matter for agreement between the two parties involved. Credit cards, cheques and debit cards are equally not ‘legal tender’ but try stopping them from being used for payment.

For what it’s worth, only Scottish coins have legal tender status in Scotland.