In a week which saw politicians in London and Edinburgh enter full-on spat mode over the future of Scottish banknotes post-independence, it's easy to forget that the note which always everybody's favourite – the Scottish £1 note – was going the way of the dodo even by the time of devolution.
In fact (and here's a irony that has also passed most people by) it's 30 years this week since the introduction of the thing that eventually replaced it: the pound coin.
To some minds, the Scottish pound note is the red squirrel of British currency and this item, a nickel-brass alloy weighing 9.5 grams, is its nemesis, the Eastern grey.
Not so. The Scottish £1 note was flimsy, eternally grubby and prone to wrinkling when it went through the wash in your jeans. In fact its only practical purpose after the English £1 note was removed from circulation in 1988 was to fool London bartenders into handing over change from a fiver when a half pint of lager was ordered. At 1988 prices, you could do that.
Some people also dismiss the £1 coin because of its weight and bulk, arguing that a wedge of ones would fit more neatly into the pocket. That's true up to a point – but who doesn't love the cool sound of jingling coins or enjoy the sensuous weight of cold cash?
Even the name of the process used to make the coins is wonderful. You print banknotes, but you mint coins. There's a huge etymological difference. Not only that, but you mint them using what's known as a planchet. Lovely word, that.
It's no surprise, then, that there are so many counterfeit £1 coins in circulation, around 1 in 35 according to most reasonable estimates. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
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