5 Pounds Without reverse underprint

Australia's first Commonwealth note issue launched in 1910 displaced the notes of the private trading banks, but the early designs went through rapid revision. This variant — without the reverse underprint — predates the security enhancement added to later runs of the same denomination, making it the earlier of the two distinct printings. T. S. Harrison was the inaugural Commonwealth Note Printer, appointed when the government deliberately chose domestic production over contracting to established British security printers.

The Collins-Allen signature combination places this firmly in the first years of operation at the Melbourne note printing facility. Collins as Secretary to the Treasury, Allen as the Commonwealth Note Printer's deputy — a pairing that did not last long before personnel changes reshuffled the authorized signatories.