Australian Superscribed Banknotes 1910 to 1914
By AG | Sunday, 6 July 2003
The Australian Government assumed responsibility for banknote issues in 1910. In the four years until 1914, notes from 17 institutions (16 banks and the Queensland Government) were purchased and overprinted with a promise by the Commonwealth Treasury to redeem the value of the note in gold.The superscription was signed by Jas R. Collins, Accountant and Geo. T. Allen, Secretary to the Treasury and dated 1st December, 1910.
Superscription reads:
AUSTRALIAN NOTE
Payable in Gold Coin at the Commonwealth Treasury at the Seat of Government
Jas R. Collins Accountant
Geo. T. Allen, Secretary to the Treasury
1st December 1910.
The numbers shown in the below table were the note forms purchased direct from the banks between 19 October, 1910 and 30 October, 1911. Additional note supplies were obtained direct from the printers, the last consignment arriving in January, 1914.
| £100 | £50 | £20 | £10 | £5 | £1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Bank of Commerce Limited | 459 | 3,875 | 7,150 | 26,500 | ||
| Bank of Adelaide | 3,000 | 5,250 | 8,500 | 29,000 | 110,000 | |
| Bank of Australasia | 800 | 1,140 | 13,900 | 42,100 | 185,700 | |
| Bank of New South Wales | 1,750 | 2,100 | 5,750 | 28,500 | 48,250 | 181,000 |
| Bank of Victoria Limited | 4,900 | 1,850 | 11,000 | 13,000 | 103,000 | |
| City Bank of Sydney, The | 480 | 550 | 20,700 | 2,000 | 35,000 | |
| Colonial Bank of Australasia Limited | 3,599 | 2,399 | 5,199 | |||
| Commercial Bank of Australia Limited | 630 | 1,540 | 3,175 | 8,700 | 7,200 | 38,300 |
| Commercial Bank of Tasmania Limited | 2,000 | 3,600 | 5,000 | 50,000 | ||
| Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited | 7,000 | 11,000 | 176,000 | |||
| English, Scottish & Australian Bank Limited | 2,899 | 1,399 | 5,900 | 6,799 | 23,999 | |
| London Bank of Australia Limited | 250 | 600 | 10,500 | 11,300 | 27,000 | |
| National Bank of Australasia Limited, The | 1,200 | 3,300 | 700 | 14,500 | 13,900 | 57,500 |
| Queensland Government | 10,000 | 80,000 | ||||
| Royal Bank of Australia Limited | 130 | 579 | 1,300 | 2,800 | 24,500 | |
| Union Bank of Australia Limited | 1,300 | 6,150 | 9,700 | 31,000 | 159,998 | |
| Western Australian Bank | 5,000 | 1,500 | 25,000 |
The following table gives details of additional note form purchases.
| Bank & Printer | £100 | £50 | £20 | £10 | £5 | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Bank of Commerce Limited Perkins, Bacon & Co., London | 50,000 | |||||
| English, Scottish & Australian Bank Limited Sands & McDougall | 200,000 | |||||
| London Bank of Australia Limited Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London | 500 | 1,500 | 45,000 | 250,000 | 2,000,000 | |
| National Bank of Australasia Limited Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London | 5,500 | 11,500 | 20,000 | 65,000 | 500,000 | 2,250,000 |
The prefix of the serial number on the overprint was F for £100, G for £50, D for £20, B for £10, C for £5 and A, E, H, I, J, K or L for £1 superscribed notes.
The overprinting took place in an area adjacent to the Treasury strongroom at the Commonwealth Offices in Melbourne. Ceremonial notes were overprinted on 19 October, 1910 and production began the following day. The ceremonial notes were A000001 - Bank of Victoria Limited £1; C00001 - Bank of NSW £5 and B000001 - Australian Bank of Commerce Limited £10.
Only small numbers of the higher value notes were actually issued. After March, 1912, the Treasury restricted superscription to the National Bank of Australasia Limited's note forms in an attempt to limit the risks of forgery. An article in the Melbourne Argus on 19 April, 1912 explains the reasoning behind this decision:
Whilst the banks issued their own notes there was little risk of extensive forgery being successfully perpetrated. Each bank dealt exclusively with its own notes, that is to say, kept none but its own notes in the till. As soon as a bank received another bank's note it was converted into gold. By this means a note was never long away from home and it was continually under the control of an expert, who, by reference to a register, could immediately check its genuineness. Now no such check exists, except at the Commonwealth Treasury, which rarely sees a note once it has been issued, except when it comes back for destruction, being in too dirty a state for continued circulation. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth notes are paid over the counter by the banks, are changed by them into gold, without in either case the slightest opportunity for efficient checking. That very grave danger attached to using so many different styles of notes did not escape the attention of the Federal Treasury, but there was apparently, no other means of keeping pace with demands. High watermark having been nearly reached, it has been decided by the Treasury that for the future and until the Commonwealth is in a position to employ its own special paper and dies, to use none but notes bearing the name of the National Bank of Australasia. As old notes come in for destruction they will be replaced by notes of this description, bearing of course, the Commonwealth superscription.
The release of new Commonwealth of Australia notes in 1913 meant that by 1914, sufficient supplies were available for the practice of superscription to be stopped. Superscribed notes were then gradually recalled and replaced with the new notes, commencing in Victoria in May, 1914, then the other states and completing the withdrawal in N.S.W. The withdrawal of superscribed notes was suspended on 24th August, 1914, and the practice of superscribing bank issues was revived for a short period at the begining of World War I when increased demand for banknotes led to the printing of an emergency issue.
