Catalog
½ Sovereign
| Issuer | Commonwealth Bank of Australia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926-1933 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Australian pound (1910-1966) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA A GOVERNMENT NOTE HALF A SOVEREIGN The Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia promises to pay the Bearer HALF A SOVEREIGN in gold coin on Demand at the Head Office of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia HALF SOVEREIGN |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection description | a star or geometric pattern embedded in the cotton paper substrate. |
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| Comments |
Australia's half sovereign denomination in paper was always an awkward instrument — the face value mirrored a gold coin that had been effectively withdrawn from circulation by the time most of these notes were issued, making the "½ Sovereign" title a nominal holdover rather than a convertibility promise. The Commonwealth Bank's Note Printing Branch in Melbourne had taken over production from the Treasury Note issues of the previous decade, and the four distinct signature combinations across this series reflect considerable staff turnover at the Bank's senior levels through the late 1920s and into the Depression years.
Riddle & Sheehan signatures are the scarcest of the four pairings.