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5 Shillings - George V
| Issuer | Commonwealth of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#1 |
| Obverse description | Printed in green and brown, the obverse carries a profile vignette of King George V to the left, with the statutory promise-to-pay text and denomination inscriptions arranged to the right. The value "5" appears in each corner and across the lower half of the note, framed by guilloche underprint work. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | FIVE SHILLINGS |
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| Comments |
Australia's first Commonwealth note issue — the series that replaced the private bank circulation following the Australian Notes Act of 1910 — didn't include a 5 Shilling denomination at the outset. This note was added in 1916, driven largely by the wartime coin shortage that was draining silver from circulation across the British Empire. The 5 Shilling piece filled the gap left by the hoarded florin and crown coinage.
T. S. Harrison printed the series entirely in Melbourne, making Australia one of the few countries at the time producing its own government paper domestically from the start. Pick #1 is the first assigned reference in the Australian Commonwealth sequence — a designation that overstates its rarity somewhat, as many examples survived in collector hands from early on.