Australia printed its first official banknote in early May 1913, precisely 100 years ago. The value of the bill that used to be 10 shillings has now risen significantly. The experts determined its current price and put it up for the auction for whopping A$3.5 mln. The bidding will start in June.
It was five-year-old Judith, the daughter of the Governor-General at the time Thomas Denman, who wrote the unique serial number М00001 on the banknote. Later this note was presented to Judith by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher.
That special banknote was eventually discovered in 1999, in about 12 years after Judith’s death. This entire time the 10 shilling banknote was treasured in one of her books, getting more expensive year after year.
The note was sold in 2008 for A$2 mln. That record price helped the collector to achieve his numismatic dream.
This banknote will be displayed at the World Stamp Expo until the auction starts. It will be demonstrated in a hand-crafted wooden box worth $10,000.
The Australian dollar became the national currency in 1966. It replaced the Australian pound that was not a decimal currency.
