BANKNOTES OF AUSTRALIA
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The history of the currency of Australia
Australia adopted the British pound as its currency
during the 1800’s, and the government allowed private banks to issue their own
notes denominated in pounds. The Australian pound officially became the national
currency in 1909 and was issued at par with the British Pound. The Australian
pound, like its British counterpart was divisible into 240 pence or 20
shillings, with one shilling being equal to twelve pence. Australian pound
banknotes were originally issued by the Commonwealth Treasury in 1910, and in
1920 the Commonwealth Bank of Australia took over all note issuing
responsibilities from the Treasury. In 1960 the Reserve Bank of Australia was
formed and has issued all Australian banknotes since.
In 1966 Australia replaced its pound with the Australian dollar, with 2 dollars being equal to one pound. The Australian dollar is made up of 100 cents, and its ISO 4217 code is AUD. Currently Australia uses coins in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and one and two dollars. The issue of one and two cent coins was discontinued and all prices are currently rounded to the nearest five cents. Banknotes are issued in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. About 20 years ago Australia’s banknote printer developed a special plastic polymer for printing banknotes on, and all of Australia’s banknotes are currently printed on this polymer which has added significant longevity to the life its banknotes. Several other countries use polymer banknotes as well.
Click on the image to enlarge Australian Coins: Top row: 50, 20, 10 and 5 cents. Bottom Left: $1 and $2 coins Bottom Right: Discontinued 1 and 2 cent coins |
The countries of Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu, and the territories of Ashmore and
Cartier Islands, Australian Antarctic Territory, Norfolk Island, Christmas
Island, Heard and McDonald Islands, Keeling and Cocos Islands, and the Coral Sea
Islands all use the Australian Dollar as their currency.
Leaflets from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Australian
Banknotes
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Australia's Currency Notes Security Features and Counterfeit Detection |
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Australia's NEW $100 note | Australia's NEW $50 note |
Related Pages
Australia Historical Currency Exchange Rates
Yearly historical exchange rates for the Australian pound and dollar
against the U.S. Dollar from 1900-2006
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Page created: 6 June 2006
Last Update:
3 May 2006
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