Catalog
100 Pounds
| Issuer | National Bank of Australasia Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1910 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Pink and black note with a central large red guilloche numeral '100' as an underprint across the middle field. At upper left, a finely engraved vignette of a classical female portrait in an oval frame; at right, an oval cartouche bearing the denomination '100 POUNDS' in intaglio lettering. The bank title 'THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRALASIA' runs in bold letterpress across the top, with serial number and promise-to-pay text inscribed in the central field above the place of issue 'MELBOURNE'. Cancellation perforations are present, and 'VICTORIA' is printed at the base. |
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| Obverse lettering | THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRALASIA LIMITED ONE HUNDRED POUNDS On Demand I Promise to pay the Bearer ONE HUNDRED POUNDS MELBOURNE VICTORIA For THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRALASIA LIMITED MANAGER 100 |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Australasia was a private trading bank, not a central authority, and its right to issue notes was a commercial privilege that the Commonwealth government was actively working to abolish when this note was printed. The Australian Notes Act of 1910 — the same year this note was issued — transferred the monopoly on note issuance to the Commonwealth Treasury, effectively ending the era of private bank currency in Australia. Notes already in circulation were progressively withdrawn rather than abruptly demonetized.
At the £100 denomination, this was never a note for ordinary transactions. High-value private bank issues of this period survive in disproportionately low numbers precisely because they moved between institutions rather than hands, and cancellation upon retirement was thorough.