Take note and don't axe our Scots tenners

THE Bank of Scotland issued Europe's first paper notes in 1695.

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It is a fact which illustrates the enormous standing our banking industry has had in the world for centuries.

In those days Scotland was a global trailblazer in everything from commerce and philosophy to medicine and economics.

The 1700s saw Enlightenment figures like David Hume and Adam Smith shape modern thought with ideas which prevail to this day.

It feels like a sad sign of the times therefore that Scottish bank notes - once a symbol of our powerful domestic industry - look to be on their way out.