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5 Pounds
| Issuer | City Bank of Sydney |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | At left, an oval intaglio vignette of a standing classical female figure with a beehive and anchor at her feet, framed by guilloche ornaments. The bank title 'The City Bank of Sydney' appears at top right in letterpress, with a promise-to-pay text in manuscript style and a large blue guilloche 'FIVE' overprint across the centre. Two serial numbers and denomination panels appear at upper right and lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Entirely engraved in blue, the reverse centres on a large circular guilloche medallion bearing the bank's armorial vignette with two standing figures flanking a shield, encircled by the legend 'THE CITY BANK OF SYDNEY'. The medallion is surrounded by elaborate lathe-work and foliate scrollwork, with two diamond-shaped '5 POUNDS' panels at either side. |
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| Comments |
The City Bank of Sydney had a short and troubled run — it was absorbed into the Bank of New South Wales in 1918, making its note issues relatively short-lived by design. By 1910, private bank currency in Australia was already in structural decline; the Commonwealth Bank had been established by act of parliament in 1911, and the writing was on the wall for trading bank notes as a circulating medium.
Pick A98 is scarce in any condition. High-denomination private bank notes from this period rarely circulated hard — they moved between merchants and clearing houses, and survivors tend to show folding rather than wear. The undated format was common across Australian trading bank issues of the period, with tellers dating notes by hand at the point of issue.