BANKNOTES OF AUSTRALIA
These notes are available for your viewing pleasure!
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Date Pick# Denomination Observations Obverse Reverse
1961 51 1 Pound  
 
1966 37a 1 Dollar  
 
1976 42b 1 Dollar  
 
1976 43b 2 Dollars  
 
1985 43e 2 Dollars  
 
1985 46e 20 Dollars  
 
1992 48d 100 Dollars  
 
2002 51 5 Dollars  
 
1996 55a 100 Dollars  
 
2001 57 5 Dollars  
 
2002 58 10 Dollars  
 
2002 59 20 Dollars  
 
2002
20(04)		 60 50 Dollars  
 

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.
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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
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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