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50 Pounds
| Issuer | National Bank of Australasia |
|---|---|
| Year | ND (1910) |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper. Central title reads "The National Bank of Australasia" in ornate lettering, with the numeral 50 in a guilloche oval at right. An oval vignette at left shows a seated female figure with produce; branch names of Australian colonies border the note vertically on both sides. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRALASIA FIFTY POUNDS Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand Fifty Pounds for value received SPECIMEN NEW SOUTH WALES SOUTH AUSTRALIA VICTORIA TASMANIA NEW ZEALAND MORETON BAY MAURITIUS |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Australasia was a Victorian-era commercial bank, not a central bank, and its right to issue notes was a routine feature of Australian colonial and early Federation banking before the Commonwealth took over note issue in 1910. This 50 Pounds sits at exactly that fault line — the Commonwealth Bank Act of 1911 and the Australian Notes Act of 1910 effectively ended private bank note issuance, meaning this type was already obsolete at or near the moment of its printing.
High-denomination commercial bank notes from this period survive in tiny numbers. They were working instruments of trade finance, not pocket change, and were typically cancelled and destroyed once cleared.