Big Wig

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I had a very busy summer that turned into a very busy school year, and the heat in Oklahoma did not help. However, the hot temperatures in August had an unexpected side effect: I spent more time indoors enjoying my bank note collection, cataloging new purchases, and doing some preliminary research on notes for potential YouTube videos. 

It may have just been the timing, but it occurred to me that the individual on one particular note must have been incredibly uncomfortable considering his heavy clothing, wig, and lack of air conditioning. I have to laugh sometimes because of the odd themes I discover as I look at my coins and bank notes. 

I came up with a wig theme years ago when I purchased a couple Haitian bank notes depicting the same gentleman. On one note, he is shown bewigged, and he is without a hairpiece on the other. The note I was holding would fit nicely in a grouping of bewigged bank notes. 

Lord Ilay, the first governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland, is pictured on this Scottish 5-pound bank note. The watermark to the left also portrays the Scottish royal. (Photos: Katz Auction)

Lord Ilay

What note might I have been holding? A Scottish 1-pound note depicting Lord Ilay would be an excellent guess, but it would be wrong. I was actually holding a Scottish 5-pound note, which also portrays Lord Ilay. The Royal Bank of Scotland issued Lord Ilay 5-pound notes dated 1987 to 2014. In addition to regular designs, it also issued five commemorative notes. 

Every note in this 5-pound series, whether commemorative or general issue, depicts Lord Ilay on the front. His portrait appears to the right and again as a watermark on the left side. 

Lord Ilay (1734-1823), born Archibald Campbell, had a number of names and titles. He was the first earl of Ilay and the third duke of Argyll. And the reason he appears on this series is that he was the first governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland. 

The portrait of Lord Ilay on these notes is based on a 1744 painting by Allan Ramsay of Edinburgh in which he is wearing the full ceremonial regalia of the Lord Justice-General of Scotland—fancy robes for the man who was the uncrowned king of Scotland. He was crowned by a magnificent wig, which is why I had purchased this note. 

High-Status Hair 

And what a wig! It is an 18th-century powdered wig, also called a bob wig, which was popular in the Georgian era. It was a bit shorter and could be gathered at the back of the neck. Wigs at this time were mandatory for those of high status and those who were seen as the intellectual elite. 

Of course, here in the United States, we are used to seeing depictions of early American officials with wigs. Television dramas of this time period often show judges, lawyers, and civilians putting on their wigs with the same ease with which we put on a hat or a cap to go out. When returning to the home or office, the wig would be placed on a wig stand.

I am curious about how they created wigs like this back then. Wigs are still made today, but they are not nearly as common or affordable. But I have been assured that the manufacturing process is much the same. The first thing a wigmaker, or perukemaker, did was secure hair for the wig, which usually came from peasant women, horses, or yaks. Strands would be bundled and then boiled for hours. It would then be wrapped tightly around clay curlers, wrapped in a flour dough, and taken to local bakeries where the hair rolls would be baked. This process ensured that the wig stayed rolled and did not become frizzy in the humid climate of the island kingdom. After this lengthy process, the curls would then be woven on a weft and sewn onto a silken cap. 

When buying a wig, customers would have to shave their head, and the wig maker would take a series of measurements that were used to create a head-shaped wooden sculpture. The wig would then be fitted to this wooden blockhead. It seems clear that we got the term “blockhead” from this process, and I wonder if wig making also gave us the phrase “knock on wood.” We still use the phrase “big wigs,” which is what bosses, judges, nobility, and royalty were called in those days.

Modern Wigs

In modern times, wigs like this are mainly used in courtrooms and government sessions in the United Kingdom and commonwealth villages, and perhaps in the occasional Elton John performance. We can thank the French for starting this fashion trend that bewigged a continent. We can also thank the French Revolution for almost destroying this fashion overnight. Being seen wearing a wig like this could result in the loss of your head, so it was off with the wig instead. 

Bank notes with wigs are probably more common than you might think. I continue to research and group notes for videos for my YouTube channel, Numismatic Notes with Benjamin. If you have a note that could be included in this theme, please let me know. Have a jewel of a day! 

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A version of this article appears in the November 2026 issue of The Numismatist (money.org)