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20 Pounds
| Issuer | Commonwealth of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (1788-1966) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 20 20 THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN NOTE THE TREASURER OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Promises to pay the Bearer TWENTY POUNDS in gold coin on demand at the Commonwealth Treasury at the seat of Government. £20 20 20 T. S. HARRISON AUSTRALIAN NOTE PRINTER |
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| Signature(s) | Collins & Allen Cerutty & Collins serial # prefix X Cerutty & Collins serial # suffix X |
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| Comments |
Australia's £20 note was among the first issued under the Australian Notes Act 1910, which stripped the private trading banks of their right to issue currency and handed that power exclusively to the Commonwealth Treasury. The £20 denomination was the highest in the series — significant for a young federation still building institutional confidence in its own paper money.
T.S. Harrison served as the first Australian Note Printer, establishing domestic production capacity in Melbourne rather than contracting to an overseas security printer. That political decision, more than any technical achievement, is what makes this series historically distinctive.
High-denomination notes of this period saw limited retail circulation and were predominantly used in interbank settlement, which concentrated wear and loss among a narrow group of handlers. Survivors are genuinely scarce.