Silvestris In Silver

Silvestris In Silver

Three banks are in possession of issuing Scotland’s banknotes; the Clydesdale Bank, The Bank of Scotland, and the Royal Bank of Scotland and upon every one, you will find that it is dripping with layered, integrated illustrations of the highest detail, serving to immortalise the heritage of Scottish society portraits in shades of sapphire, gold, amethyst, emerald and ruby.

The honour of such depiction is not without justification. Looking at the banknotes circulating our economy today, we can see the visage of Robert Bruce, Robert Burns, Charles Rennie MacIntosh and Walter Scott; all renowned characters enshrined within Scottish history and engraved upon the mind of the average Scot. The other portraiture highlights the second function of monetary illustrations. If the first were an act of celebration of men whom everyone in this country can agree upon their historic status. The second function is an act of education regarding the lessor known in our national story. Placed alongside the dominating columns of our culture is Lord Illay, founder of the Royal Bank of Scotland, William Arrol, civil engineer designing the Forth, Tay, and Tower Bridges and recently introduced Nan Shepard, a novelist and Mary Somerville, an academic of the natural sciences. It is undeniable that the aforementioned names would have been well-since faded lights within the realm of public interest and opinion- if not for their inclusion upon the money that is in possession of every single person in the country. This educational aspect of physical money is the motive for the Journal of Matters Relating to Felines undertaking ‘Silvestris In Silver’, our campaign in the pursuit of the placing of the Scottish Wildcat, Felis Silvestris, on the face of upcoming currency and coinage of Scotland.

The ‘Fabric of Nature’ Series of banknotes introduced redesigned £5 and £10 banknotes featuring previously mentioned Nan Shepard and Mary Somerville, respectively. The key factor which gives wind to our sails was the inclusion of Scottish fauna on each banknote reverse side, with waveswept mackerel and playful otters, respectively. This is an unorthodox move as the banknotes of this country and been painted with sweeping landscapes and awe-inspiring architecture throughout history. This artistic direction of native fauna presents a wonderful opportunity for us to clasp with both paws.

These notes have been in circulation for some time and last year the Royal Bank of Scotland revealed the third instalment of ‘The Fabric of Nature’, a £20 in the hues of lavender, with Edwardian tearoom entrepreneur, Kate Cranston on the obverse and on the reverse, scarlet bodies of two red squirrels. The decline of the red squirrel is a well-known tragedy, beginning with the introduction of the grey squirrel from across the Atlantic Ocean, continuing with the animal warfare between both species and ending with the red squirrels’ ostracism from English fauna.

Which is why Gill Hatcher of the project, ‘Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels’, penned the article, ‘A Future for Scotland’s Red Squirrels is On the Money’, heralding the inclusion. He writes, ‘Choosing to feature them on our country’s money feels like a solid statement –the red squirrel belongs in Scotland. We also hope that having this iconic species in people’s wallets, pockets and purses will serve as a friendly reminder that continued conservation effort is essential for ensuring they will always have a home here.’ Does this not confirm the motives and desires of our Silvestris In Silver campaign? Being an exact parallel of the wildcats’ existential crisis shows that if we were to succeed in influencing the design process of upcoming notes, we can encourage action towards a positive difference being made to Scottish wildcat populations.

The reasons for featuring the wildcat upon our money are numerous and not purely grounded ecological activism. Yes, motives regarding conservation and awareness are principal and thoroughly outlined within, ‘Ghost of the Woodland’ but to not tread over the same ground, I will address only the practical applications of wildcat imagery and its factors that will have great appeal to their uptake for design purposes.

Firstly, the physical biology of Felis silvestris will lend itself well to the desired complexity required for present-day banknotes in order to dissuade counterfeiture. The composition of a wildcat has nuanced differences from the form of a domestic cat. This means that counterfeit artists may encounter difficulties adjusting to the slight difference in anatomy and these errors will slow the circulation of this fake money and can be easily identifiable to a trained eye. The fur of a cat, especially a wildcat, is arranged in series of layered coats of varying lengths. Careful inspection of a high-quality image of a wildcat or petting a typical domestic cat will confirm this. More aspects of wildcat fur which will augment its practicality in banknote design would be the patterns and colour gradients. Scottish wildcat fur is an ochre palette of browns, creams and whites arranged beautifully with interlocking stripes. The complexity of the shading for fur and achieving the correct pattern will also make the Scottish Wildcat preferable from a perspective of practicality for future banknote additions.

Continuing with suggestions that may allow the scales to tip in the favour of our proposal, is that if the artist were to ever to be tasked with searching for quotes, we have the perfect suggestion. Picture the following laced throughout the design of a banknote, this quote from John Bossewell from within his 1572 work, ‘The Heraldic Musion’:

‘‘A beaste that is enimie to myse and rates. Slye and wittie, and seeth so sharply, that he over-commeth darkness of the nighte by the shyninge lighte of his eyne. In the shape of body, he is like unto a leopard, and hath a greate mouthe. He doth delighte that he enjoyeth his libertie, and is his youthe he is swifte, plyante, and merrie. He maketh a rufull noyse, and a gastefull when he proffereth to fighte with another. He is a cruel beaste when he is wilde and falleth on his owne feet from moste high places, and uneth is hurte therewith. When he hathe a fayre skinne, he is, as it were, prowde thereof, and then he goeth fast aboute to be seene.’’

If the old-English style is off-putting, then fear not, as the Journal of Matters Relating to Felines can provide a second suggestion. Sourced from Carl Van Vechten’s, ‘A Cultural History of the Cat’, this quotation may be considered more practical for the average citizen with it being composed in standard English but it is infinitely more appropriate considering that it would be printed by a Scottish bank, as it was said by the famed Scottish poet and novelist, Sir Walter Scott:

Both quotes are not only delightful and charming descriptions of the cats in general, but they are an arrangement of sentences with such power and beauty that any snippet will be a wonderfully welcome embellishment to adorn an upcoming banknote. Other suggestions for a feline design would be the background for the wildcat side could be illustrations of Clashindarroch forest, which is the Scottish forest with the highest number of Scottish wildcats, essentially a wildcat haven that, in our own belief, should be site of cultural and ecological heritage and would serve as a perfect complement to the wildcat image.

Relaying the same points, I have contacted the following institutions about the possibilities of incorporating our request into their future designs and they have given the following statements:

All of the proposals were relayed to the three banks capable of note design and printing, with the addition of the Committee of Scottish Bankers, contained within shimmering golden envelopes sealed with black wax to implore their attention.

Michael Downey of The Committee of Scottish Bankers, began his prompt reply thanking me for my ‘interesting’ letter and supplied the following explanation as to why they cannot assist us with our cause, ‘‘Banknote design is a competitive issue given the brand associations and therefore would not be discussed at a forum external to each organisation.’’

Derek Walker, Cash Services Manager of Clydesdale Bank, thanking me for my letter, stated, ‘‘no redesign or indeed new design contemplated, certainly in the medium term.’’ Upon question if any of the points or suggestions placed forward by our ‘Silvestris In Silver’ campaign would be kept until a new design in contemplated, Mr Walker affirmed that our input will be retained, but its consideration and possible application is many years away.

Both Royal Bank of Scotland and the Royal Mint both failed to reply as of early September 2019, providing neither nebulous, corporate platitude or message of thanks.

I must admit that I am deeply disappointed by the reaction from the three banks, especially considering that I had exhausted my ability in encouraging their support and reciprocation of the Silvestris In Silver campaign with a point-by-point plea for the Scottish wildcats’ inclusion. Unaffected with the indifference, we must remain resolute. I reiterate that this is a monumentally important opportunity for the survival of the Scottish Wildcat, a key zoological and cultural icon for Scotland and which desperately needs this act of good will and magnanimity on behalf of banks.

Silvestris In Silver does not end with this article. The Journal of Matters Relating to Felines will continue to write to politicians and institutions alike in efforts to progress our campaign and will be updating the campaign in our next issue. I eventually came to meet Laura Cuthill, a Content-Assistant for BBC Radio Scotland. She requested that I provide more information regarding the wildcat aspects of this autumnal issue and our various campaigns. Once provided, she said that our campaigns were of great interest for the ‘Out of Doors’ radio-programme, located in Scotland, the programme covers the all aspects of the natural world surrounding us from geography, outdoor activities, tourist sites, farming and, the topic creating the possible opportunity for us to feature on the radio, animal conservation.

Composed by,

Maurice Alexander, Undergraduate of Business Management