Catalog
5 Pounds
| Issuer | Union Bank of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette shows a seated female figure with a tall ship at sea in the background; upper left circular medallion bears an intaglio portrait of Queen Victoria in crown and robes, flanked by ornate guilloche borders. Lower left and right corners carry £5 denomination rosettes, with the full bank title at top and base in letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED We Promise to pay the Bearer here on Demand FIVE POUNDS Sterling. For the Directors & Company, MANAGER. |
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| Comments |
The Union Bank of Australia was absorbed into the Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) in 1951, but notes like this one were already being squeezed out of circulation long before that merger. The Commonwealth Bank Act of 1910 — the same year assigned to this note — set in motion the gradual transfer of note-issuing rights to the Commonwealth Bank, with private bank issues formally prohibited for new production after 1910 and withdrawn from legal tender by 1911.
That tight window makes surviving examples genuinely rare. Notes caught in the transition were often returned to the issuing bank and destroyed rather than worn out through normal use.