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20 Pounds
| Issuer | Commonwealth of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
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| Printer | T.S. Harrison, Australian Note Printer |
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| Obverse description | The note is laid out with an elaborate guilloche border and corner numerals reading '20'. The Commonwealth of Australia coat of arms appears in a circular vignette to the left, flanked by intricate lathe-work panels. The central text block carries the Treasury promise-to-pay legend, with the denomination 'TWENTY' printed in large orange letterpress across the lower centre, two manuscript signatures below, and the printer's imprint 'T.S. HARRISON, AUSTRALIAN NOTE PRINTER' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The central vignette, set within a large oval frame, presents an intaglio scene of timber workers felling a giant tree in the forests of Bruny Island, Tasmania, with figures shown on springboards and at ground level amid dense bush. Bold guilloche panels flank the vignette on both sides, each anchored by a large numeral '20' in circular medallions at the corners. The denominations 'TWENTY POUNDS' appear in rectangular cartouches at the lower left and lower right. |
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| Comments |
Australia's £20 note was among the first issued under the Australian Notes Act 1910, which stripped the private trading banks of their right to issue currency and handed that power exclusively to the Commonwealth Treasury. The £20 denomination was the highest in the series — significant for a young federation still building institutional confidence in its own paper money.
T.S. Harrison served as the first Australian Note Printer, establishing domestic production capacity in Melbourne rather than contracting to an overseas security printer. That political decision, more than any technical achievement, is what makes this series historically distinctive.
High-denomination notes of this period saw limited retail circulation and were predominantly used in interbank settlement, which concentrated wear and loss among a narrow group of handlers. Survivors are genuinely scarce.