Guide to the Australian Currency Collection
MS 270
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: May 2016
Collection Summary
- Title
- Australian Currency Collection
- Date Range
- 1830-1900
- Collection Number
- MS 270
- Extent
- 0.03 metres (1 folder)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- NLA
- Sponsor
- The digitisation of the Library’s Currency Collection was made possible by the generous financial support of donors to the Banknotes and Currency Preservation Appeal (2015). The Library gratefully acknowledges this support.
Introduction
Scope and Contents
A group of currency items acquired by the National Library. They comprise City Bank of Sydney (1864-1918) specimen notes of one pound, five pound, ten pound, twenty pound and fifty pound dating; two cheques of Derwent Bank, Tasmania (1827-1849); a one mark German note; and one lottery ticket on the funds of the Bank of Australia.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn287038).
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Items 1-5 were presented to the Parliamentary Library in 191[-] by Senator the Hon. James Thomas Walker, a financier and politician.
Items 6-7 were acquired from E A Petherick, bookseller, publisher, bibliographer and book collector.
Item 8 was acquired from a Mr Wadsworth.
Item 9 was presented to Prime Minister Andrew Fisher by a 'Madeleine Tracy'. Fisher then passed it on to The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Melbourne, on 15 December 1920.
References
References used in the creation of this finding aid include:
Australian colonial currency and promissory notes by Michael P. Vort-Ronald, second edition, 2012 and
Standard catalogue of world paper money by Albert Pick, vol 2, c1990
Item Descriptions
City Bank of Sydney specimen banknote for one pound sterling, No. D249143, 1 January 1900 (Item 1)
Issue details
Category: specimen £1 banknote
Type: MVR2d
Country: Australia
Denomination: £1 sterling
Issuing agency: City Bank of Sydney
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, Engravers, London
Domicile of issuer: Sydney, NSW
Issue date: 1 January 1900
Serial number: D249143
Signatures: G L Hosie, Manager, Ent'd [Lane?]
Overprinting: 'Specimen Note Form' handwritten in red at top
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: front: vignette of standing woman left side; back: two men under a shield within a circle
Watermark: City Bank of Sydney
Physical description: dimensions - 208x123 mm; black print with large denomination word in brown in centre. Back brown.
Industry catalogue/number: Renniks MVR1
City Bank of Sydney specimen banknote for five pounds sterling, No. C59919, 1 January 1900 (Item 2)
Issue details
Category: specimen £1 banknote
Type: MVR2d
Country: Australia
Denomination: £1 sterling
Issuing agency: City Bank of Sydney
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, Engravers, London
Domicile of issuer: Sydney, NSW
Issue date: 1 January 1900
Serial number: D249143
Signatures: G L Hosie, Manager, Ent'd [Lane?]
Overprinting: 'Specimen Note Form' handwritten in red at top
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: front: vignette of standing woman left side; back: two men under a shield within a circle
Watermark: City Bank of Sydney
Physical description: dimensions - 208x123 mm; black print with large denomination word in brown in centre. Back brown.
Industry catalogue/number: Renniks MVR1
City Bank of Sydney specimen banknote for ten pounds sterling, No. C09394, 1 May 1893 (Item 3)
Issue details
Category: specimen £10 banknote
Type: MVR2d
Country: Australia
Denomination: £10 sterling
Issuing agency: City Bank of Sydney
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, Engravers, London
Domicile of issuer: Sydney, NSW
Issue date: 1 May 1893
Serial number: C09394
Signatures: Wm Clarke, Manager, Ent'd (illegible)
Overprinting: 'Specimen Note Form' handwritten in red at top
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: front: vignette of standing woman left side; back: two men under a shield within a circle
Watermark: City Bank of Sydney
Physical description: dimensions - 206x118 mm; black print with large denomination word in green in centre. Back green.
Industry catalogue/number: Renniks MVR1
City Bank of Sydney specimen banknote for twenty pounds sterling, No. D000402, 1 January 1900 (Item 4)
Issue details
Category: specimen £20 banknote
Type: MVR2d
Country: Australia
Denomination: £20 sterling
Issuing agency: City Bank of Sydney
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, Engravers, London
Domicile of issuer: Sydney, NSW
Issue date: 1 January 1900
Serial number: D000402
Overprinting: 'Specimen Note Form' handwritten in red at top
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: front: vignette of standing woman left side; back: two men under a shield within a circle
Watermark: City Bank of Sydney
Physical description: dimensions - 206x119 mm; black print with large denomination word in red in centre. Back red.
Industry catalogue/number: Renniks MVR1
City Bank of Sydney specimen banknote for fifty pounds sterling, No. D000450, 1 January 1900 (Item 5)
Issue details
Category: specimen £50 banknote
Type: MVR2d
Country: Australia
Denomination: £50 sterling
Issuing agency: City Bank of Sydney
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, Engravers, London
Domicile of issuer: Sydney, NSW
Issue date: 1 January 1900
Serial number: D000402
Overprinting: 'Specimen Note Form' handwritten in red at top
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: front: vignette of standing woman left side; back: two men under a shield within a circle
Watermark: City Bank of Sydney
Physical description: dimensions - 206x119 mm; black print with large denomination word in orange in centre. Back orange.
Industry catalogue/number: Renniks MVR1
Cancelled cheque on the Derwent Bank, for nine pounds, eight shillings and fivepence, issued 21 March 1828 (Item 6)
Issue details
Category: cheque
Country: Australia
Denomination: £9-8s-5d
Issuing agency: Derwent Bank, Tasmania
Printer: Bock & Co, Hobart
Domicile of issuer: Hobart, Tasmania
Issued to: self
Issue date: 21 March 1828
Signatures: M Goodridge
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: Monogram in cartouche left front
Physical description: dimensions - 183x100 mm; black print on off white paper with black handwriting
Cancelled cheque on the Derwent Bank, for five pounds to self, signed by M Goodridge, issued 24 December 1830 (Item 7)
Issue details
Category: cheque
Country: Australia
Denomination: £5
Issuing agency: Derwent Bank, Tasmania
Domicile of issuer: Hobart, Tasmania
Issued to: self
Issue date: 24 December 1830
Signatures: M Goodridge
Circulation status: cancelled
Illustrative content: "Derwent Bank" between two borders down left side
Physical description: dimensions - 183x100 mm; black print on off white paper with black handwriting
German State Loan currency note (Darlehenkassenscheine) for one mark, No.330-737261, 12 August 1914 (Item 8)
Issue details
Category: banknote
Country: Germany
Denomination: 1 deutschmark
Issuing agency: Der Darlehenkassen
Domicile of issuer: Germany
Issue date: 12 August 1914
Serial number: 330-737261
Circulation status: issued
Physical description: black and green print on off white paper. Red serial number and seal.
Industry catalogue/number Pick # 50
Bank of Australia lottery ticket number 2123, issued to John Sterling, dated 19 October 1848, drawn on 1 January 1849. Endorsed to Farquhar [McLean?] on back. (Item 9)
Issue details
Category: lottery ticket
Country: Australia
Issuing agency: Bank of Australia
Printer: H. C. Jervis & Co.
Domicile of issuer: Sydney, NSW
Issued to: John Stirling
Issue date: 19 October 1848
Serial number: 2123
Signatures: four directors of Bank of Australia
Illustrative content: patterned border with 6 inset illustrations
Watermark: Sydney Banking Company
Physical description: dimensions - 192x102 mm; black print on white paper with ink handwriting
Additional information
The Bank of Australia failed on 2nd March 1843 and the liquidation resulted in remaining assets of the bank in the form of land holdings being disposed of by lottery. Despite being disallowed by the British government, on 19 October 1848, 11,247 tickets were printed, numbered by hand, signed by four directors and issued to shareholders in proportion to their holdings. Shareholders had the right to resell (or assign) their tickets at £4 each which many did. The draw took place in January 1849.