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50 Marks Australian occupation, treasury note
| Issuer | Australian Military Administration (German New Guinea) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Marks |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | No. TREASURY NOTE 50 50 FIFTY MARKS Payable in coin at the Treasury, Rabaul. Dated at Rabaul this 14th day of October 1914 For and on behalf of the Treasury TREASURER |
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| Variants | P#4a - issued note P#4b - pen cancelled 10.01.1915 |
| Comments |
When Australian forces seized German New Guinea in September 1914, they inherited a functioning colonial economy that ran on Marks. Rather than immediately imposing sterling, the military administration issued emergency treasury notes in the existing currency denomination — a pragmatic choice that avoided commercial disruption in the territory's copra trade. These were produced locally in Rabaul under improvised conditions, not by any established security printer.
The rough production quality is a known characteristic of the series. Paper stock and impression consistency vary considerably between surviving examples, a direct consequence of the makeshift presswork. Pick 4 is the highest denomination in the four-note Marks series, which was retired as sterling-based currency took hold through 1915.