Catalog
20 Pounds
| Issuer | Bank of Adelaide |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
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| Reference(s) | P#A79 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue and black intaglio on white paper. A central vignette depicts a classical allegorical scene with figures in a pastoral setting, flanked by intricate guilloche rosettes at each corner and numeral 20 panels at upper right and lower left. The upper portion carries the bank title in ornate script reading 'The Bank of Adelaide', with the denomination 'TWENTY POUNDS' in bold letterpress across the centre and a handwritten date and signature line for 'The Manager' at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE BANK OF ADELAIDE TWENTY POUNDS 20 AUSTRALIA Payable at the Treasury of South Australia For the Bank of Adelaide, Manager Ent'd Acc't |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Adelaide was a relatively minor South Australian institution, and large-denomination private bank notes like this £20 were instruments of commerce rather than everyday currency — passing between merchants, squatters, and pastoral agents rather than circulating through ordinary retail trade. By 1910, the era of Australian private bank note issue was already winding down, with federation having created pressure toward a unified national currency that would arrive in 1910–11 through the Australian Notes Act.
Surviving examples of this issue are genuinely rare. High-denomination private notes were frequently cancelled and destroyed once redeemed, and the Bank of Adelaide's relatively modest note-issuing volume compared to the colonial giants means documented survivors are few.