Catalog
50 Pounds
| Issuer | Australian Bank of Commerce Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Black on white intaglio-printed note with an oval central vignette of Sydney Harbour, ships visible on the water, framed by the bank's title in an arc at top. Corner medallions bear the numeral 50, with SYDNEY and NEW SOUTH WALES in vertical lettering on the side borders. Promise-to-pay text reads I PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND FIFTY POUNDS Sterling, with manuscript date Sydney 1st Jany 1910. |
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| Obverse lettering | THE AUSTRALIAN BANK OF COMMERCE LIMITED NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY 50 I PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND FIFTY POUNDS Sterling SYDNEY 1st Jany 1910 For THE AUSTRALIAN BANK OF COMMERCE LIMITED FIFTY Ent'd Pro Manager |
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| Comments |
The Australian Bank of Commerce had a short and troubled existence — formed in 1910 through the amalgamation of the Bank of Queensland and the City of Melbourne Bank, it collapsed the same year it opened, never achieving a stable trading position. Notes of this issue almost certainly never entered general circulation; the bank's failure was swift enough that most surviving paper was either redeemed or cancelled administratively.
A 50 Pound denomination from a bank that effectively ceased operations within months of printing is an extreme rarity by any measure. No central authority was involved — this was a private commercial bank note, issued under the old system of competitive private currency that Australia was in the process of dismantling.