Guide to the Australian Currency Collection

Searching...

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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.

Letter from Andrew Fisher to The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Melbourne, dated 15 December 1920 enclosing item 9, a Bank of Australia lottery ticket. (Item 10)


Top