Catalog
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| Issuer | Australian and European Bank Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1874-1879 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | White note printed in black intaglio with elaborate copperplate script throughout. At centre top, the bank title 'The Australian and European Bank Limited' is rendered in ornate calligraphic lettering flanked by the denomination letter 'A' on each upper corner; below, a royal coat of arms vignette is set against a fine guilloche underprint. The promise-to-pay clause, date line 'June 1 Melbourne 1 June 18__', and the word 'One' in bold decorative script appear in the lower field, with manuscript entry lines for Ent., Acct., and Manager at the foot. |
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| Obverse lettering | The Australian and European Bank Limited Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand the Sum of One Pound June 1 Melbourne 1 June 18__ One For the Australian and European Bank Limited Ent:_______Acct_________Manager________ |
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| Comments |
The Australian and European Bank Limited was incorporated in London in 1872 with the stated ambition of bridging British capital markets and Australian colonial commerce. It failed within a decade, going into liquidation in 1879 — which makes the window for this note's issue unusually short and the surviving population correspondingly thin.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed for a remarkable range of colonial and private banks during this period, and their work for short-lived institutions like this one rarely survived in quantity. Notes returned to London branches during wind-up were typically destroyed, not archived.