Catalog
5 Pounds
| Issuer | Bank of Adelaide |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black and brown intaglio print on white paper. Central vignette shows a classical allegorical group with figures; the bank title in ornate script across the top, with guilloche rosettes at corners and the numeral "5" in elaborate cartouches. Serial number, date, and Manager signature line appear in the lower portion amid letterpress text stating the promise to pay. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE BANK OF ADELAIDE AUSTRALIAN NOTE FIVE POUNDS For the Bank of Adelaide Manager Ent. Acc. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Adelaide was a relatively minor South Australian institution, absorbed into the Union Bank of Australia in 1917. This note predates that merger, placing it in the bank's final independent decade — a period when Australian private bank currency was already under sustained pressure from the Commonwealth Bank, established in 1911.
Private banknote issuance in Australia continued legally until 1910 legislation imposed a prohibitive tax on non-government notes, effectively ending the era. A note from this date sits at precisely that threshold.