Catalog
50 Pounds
| Issuer | Union Bank of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed note with ornate guilloche border. Central vignette shows a seated allegorical female figure with a sailing ship and agricultural implements; an oval portrait of Queen Victoria appears at upper left. Denomination medallions at each corner read "50", with the bank title arching across the top and bottom in bold letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED We Promise to pay the Bearer here on Demand FIFTY POUNDS Sterling FOR THE DIRECTORS & COMPANY MANAGER |
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| Comments |
The Union Bank of Australia was one of the major colonial trading banks that refused to die quietly after Federation. Incorporated in London in 1837, it continued operating as a private issuing bank in Australia well into the twentieth century, despite the Commonwealth Bank's establishment in 1911 effectively marking the beginning of the end for private note issue. A 50 Pound denomination was never a note for ordinary commerce — this was a merchant and interbank instrument, moving between ledgers rather than hands.
The Union Bank was absorbed into the ANZ Group via merger with the Bank of Australasia in 1951. Notes of this denomination from this period survive in very small numbers.