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50 Pounds
| Issuer | Commonwealth of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913-1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#8 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 50 50 THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN NOTE THE TREASURER OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Promises to pay the Bearer FIFTY POUNDS in gold coin on DEMAND at the Commonwealth Treasury at the Seat of Government. FIFTY 50 50 |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 50 FIFTY POUNDS |
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| Comments |
Australia's first federally issued banknotes replaced the notes of private trading banks following the Australian Notes Act of 1910, which gave the Commonwealth exclusive right of issue. The £50 denomination was the highest in the inaugural series — a face value so large relative to average wages that these notes functioned almost entirely in interbank and commercial settlement, rarely if ever passing through ordinary hands.
The Collins & Allen signature combination is known only in cancelled form, suggesting that pairing never reached general circulation. The multiple Cerutty & Collins serial varieties — prefix Y with serifs, suffix Y, and bold prefix Y without serifs — indicate incremental plate or typographical changes during a single signature period, the kind of production detail that makes census tracking genuinely difficult.