50 Dollars

Australia's first $50 note entered circulation in 1973 as part of the decimal series that had launched in 1966, filling a gap between the $20 and $100 that the Reserve Bank had initially hesitated to create, fearing it would prove too convenient for tax evasion and cash-heavy transactions. The note ran for over two decades under eight different signature combinations — an unusually long lifespan that generated significant variation in serial typography, most notably the mid-run shift from the plain Johnston & Fraser font to the OCR-style variant, a detail that trips up collectors who assume the series is monolithic.

Replaced in 1995 by the polymer $50, the cotton paper issue now attracts steady collector interest, particularly the earlier Phillips & Wheeler examples.