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10 Dollars Bicentenary of European Settlement
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 10 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A vignette of an Aboriginal youth in ceremonial body paint occupies the central field, flanked by ancient rock art motifs including hand stencils and figures. A ceremonial Morning Star pole, commissioned from Aboriginal artist Yumbulul, anchors the composition, with background patterns derived from original works commissioned by the Reserve Bank from various Aboriginal artists. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Optically variable device (OVD) incorporated into the portrait of Captain James Cook on the obverse, with colour-shifting properties; the polymer substrate itself provides transparency windows as an integral security feature. |
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| Comments |
The world's first polymer banknote, full stop. Developed through a collaboration between the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the University of Melbourne, this note was issued specifically for the bicentenary year as a live-circulation test of the new substrate technology. It was not a commemorative curiosity — the RBA treated it as a genuine proof-of-concept deployment, and it worked.
The optically variable device incorporated into the clear window was itself a first for circulating currency. Australia subsequently licensed the polymer technology globally, and by the 2000s it had been adopted by dozens of central banks.