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5 Pounds
| Issuer | National Bank of Australasia |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in brown and blue-grey tones, with a large central circular guilloche vignette bearing the numeral 5 at its heart, surrounded by the bank title THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRALASIA in a ring. The four corners each carry ornately engraved rosette panels with the figure 5 and the word FIVE, all linked by fine lathe-work border patterns. The overall design is executed in letterpress with a pale blue security underprint over the central guilloche. |
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| Protection description | Orange guilloche underprint on obverse; pale blue circular underprint on reverse |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Australasia was a private commercial bank, not a central authority, and its banknotes circulated by virtue of the bank's own credit standing. This 5 Pounds note dates from a transitional period — the Commonwealth Bank Act had passed in 1911, and the Australian Notes Act of the same year moved the country decisively toward a government monopoly on note issue. Private bank currency was progressively taxed out of existence, and most surviving examples from this era were redeemed and pulped rather than retained.
The underprint security feature was a common deterrent against raised-denomination forgery, a persistent problem with high-value colonial-era notes where photographic counterfeiting was crude but chemical erasure was not.