Note's sale is a sale of note
Worth 10 shillings - a dollar in today's money - when released 100 years ago today, it is now valued at $3.5 million.
The note is being sold through Coinworks in Melbourne on behalf of administrators McGrathNicol. Coinworks managing director Belinda Downie says she arrived at the sale price after consulting with experts in the field, including dealer Barry Windsor, who bought this note in 2000 for $1 million. It changed hands again in 2008 for $2 million.
It is the first Commonwealth note produced and the first officially-issued 10 shilling note anywhere in the world, she says. The official numbering ceremony took place on May 1, 1913, at the government printing works in Melbourne.
The serial number M000001 was printed by Judith Denman, the five-year-old daughter of the governor-general, Lord Denman. Also at the ceremony was prime minister Andrew Fisher, a key figure in promoting a uniquely Australian style of currency and stamps.
The absence of a royal profile was controversial at the time.
The banknote will be exhibited in the Hall of Honour at the Melbourne Exhibition Building as part of the World Stamp Expo from May 10 to 15. It will then be offered for private sale.
Downie is expecting interest from public institutions, but individuals are also able to buy this significant piece of Australian financial history.
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Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Australia’s first Commonwealth banknote — the officially issued 10 shilling note with the serial number M000001 — is being offered for sale. It’s regarded as the country’s first Commonwealth note and the first officially issued 10 shilling note anywhere in the world.
The note is being marketed at about $3.5 million, a price set by Coinworks in Melbourne after consulting experts in the field.
Coinworks in Melbourne is selling the note on behalf of administrators McGrathNicol. The banknote will be exhibited publicly and then offered for private sale rather than a public auction.
The note is historically significant because it’s the first Commonwealth-produced banknote and the first officially issued 10 shilling note globally, making it a rare and culturally important piece of Australian financial history.
The official numbering ceremony took place on May 1, 1913, at the government printing works in Melbourne.
The serial number M000001 was printed by Judith Denman, the five-year-old daughter of Governor-General Lord Denman, during the 1913 numbering ceremony.
Yes. The banknote will be exhibited in the Hall of Honour at the Melbourne Exhibition Building as part of the World Stamp Expo from May 10 to 15, after which it will be offered for private sale.
Coinworks expects interest from public institutions, but individual buyers are also able to purchase this significant piece of Australian financial history through the private sale process.
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