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20 Pounds
| Issuer | Bank of New South Wales |
|---|---|
| Year | 1910 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The Bank of New South Wales name appears in banners across both the top and bottom of the note. A central allegorical female vignette representing Commerce occupies the upper centre, flanked by the denomination numeral "20" in both upper corners. The promissory text is inscribed across the middle of the note, with the written denomination "TWENTY POUNDS" repeated at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES 20 20 A Promise to pay the Bearer at PORT MORESBY on demand TWENTY POUNDS Sterling. Dated the ____ day of ____ 19 For the BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES. TWENTY POUNDS MANAGER BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of New South Wales was the oldest trading bank in Australia, established in 1817, and by 1910 was still issuing its own notes under the authority granted before Federation — a situation that persisted until the Australian Notes Act of 1910 effectively ended private banknote issue by imposing a ten-percent tax on all non-Commonwealth paper currency. This note was issued right at that inflection point.
High-denomination private bank notes of this period are rare survivors. Most were redeemed promptly once the Commonwealth monopoly took hold, and the £20 face value meant few were held as souvenirs.