Catalog
10 Pounds
| Issuer | Bank of Australasia |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
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| Currency | Pound sterling (1694-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on white paper with a horizontal format, bearing the word QUEENSLAND vertically along both left and right borders within ornate guilloche panels, with large numeral 10 medallions at each corner. The central field carries a vignette of a classical female figure flanked by intricate lathe-work underprint, with hand-signed manuscript text reading the promise to pay, countersigned at lower left, and the designation TEN POUNDS in bold letterpress across the centre. Serial numbers appear at upper left and right, with the branch designation and MANAGER signature line at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in black on plain white paper and centres on a large engraved armorial vignette enclosed within an elaborate scrollwork surround of symmetrical foliate ornament. The shield displays four quartered heraldic devices associated with the Bank of Australasia's corporate arms, encircled by a legend referencing the bank's incorporation and charter date of 1835. Numeral 10 roundels occupy each corner within a fine guilloche border frame. |
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The Bank of Australasia was a British-chartered institution headquartered in London, operating branches across Australia and New Zealand from 1835 until its 1951 merger with the Union Bank of Australia to form ANZ. Notes of this type were issued under imperial banking authority, not by any Australian colonial or federal government — a distinction that matters for provenance. By 1910, the Commonwealth Bank Act had already passed, and the writing was on the wall for private note issue in Australia; the Commonwealth Bank began issuing its own notes in 1913, after which private bank currency was progressively withdrawn.
High-denomination private bank notes from this transitional period survived in tiny numbers. Most were redeemed quickly once federal currency took hold.