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Friday 5 October 2018

822) New Australian 50 Dollar Banknote (AUD $50) issued in 10/2018 under the "Fourth Series of Banknotes" : New Generation of Australian Banknotes introduced in a phased manner from September 2016 onwards by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA):

822) New Australian 50 Dollar Banknote (AUD $50) issued in 10/2018 under the "Fourth Series of Banknotes" : New Generation of Australian Banknotes introduced in a phased manner from September 2016 onwards by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA):

Common Features of the new Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes:

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has always striven to print one of the most secure currencies in the World and has encountered relatively few instances of counterfeiting of its Banknotes.

Banknote upgrades:

Under its anti-counterfeiting strategies and to upgrade the security features of its Banknotes on an on-going basis, the RBA is once again bringing out a new Series/Generation of Banknotes, titled the - "Fourth Series of Australian Banknotes" - the first of which was in the denomination of $5, which was released into circulation on 01.09.2016, the next denomination of $10 was released on 20.09.2017, the new $50 Banknote is scheduled for release on 18.10.2018, the new $20 is slated for release in 2019, while the new $100 Banknote will be circulated in 2020.

Some interesting features of this Series of Banknotes are:

a) All denominations of Banknotes in this Series will incorporate the same security features.

b) In addition, they will each feature a different species of Australian wattle and a native bird within a number of distinctive elements.

c) Each denomination of Banknotes in the next Series/Generation of Banknotes will feature a different Australian bird.

d) The portrait of Queen Elizabeth already figuring on circulating Banknotes has been retained.

e) The new features include the World's first clear top-to-bottom window and a number of dynamic features that change when the Banknotes are tilted.

f) Some key design aspects of the existing Series of Banknotes - colour, size and personalities portrayed on each denomination have been retained, to assist users to recognise the new Banknotes easily as and when they are introduced into circulation.

g) The next generation of Banknotesalso includes an embossed "tactile" feature in their design, to assist the visually challenged/visually impaired users to distinguish between different Banknote denominations. This is the first time a "tactile feature" has been introduced on an Australian Banknote.

h) The existing Australian Banknote features that were designed to assist persons with impaired vision have been retained as part of the next generation Banknote design. These include - bright colours, large and contrasting numbers and variable sizes for each denomination of Banknote.

i) The lay-out of the elements featured in the top-to-bottom window will be consistent across each denomination in the new series of Banknotes. These elements are aligned to the specific wattle, bird and portraits represented on each Banknote.

j) Some of the other security features include: the Federation Star (7-pointed Star representing the six states and combined territories which constitute the Australian nation), Commonwealth Coat of arms, Rolling Colour Effect, Intaglio Printing, Micro-Print etc.

k) The Banknotes are being printed by Note Printing Australia.

The new Generation $50 Banknote introduced in general circulation wef - 18.10.2018:

The Front and Back images of the $50 Banknote which will be put into circulation wef 18.10.2018, shown against a background of a portion of an enlarged image of the Front of the Banknote

The $50 Banknote is the third Banknote issued in the Fourth Series of Australian Banknotes.

On the Front of the $50 Banknote is seen a portrait of David Unaipon, an inventor and Australia's first published Aboriginal author. 



On the Back of the $50 Banknote is seen a portrait of Edith Cowan, the first female member of an Australian Parliament.

Both Unaipon and Cowan are recognised for their accomplishments in their respective fields for social inclusion which has been highlighted in several design elements on the Banknote. For example, on the Front of the Banknote, shields from Unaipon's Ngarrindjeri nation and images portraying the practices of "miwi" and practices of navel cord exchange about which Unaipon wrote are seen on the Banknote.

The Back of the Banknote, also includes pictures of the "gumnut" brooch Cowan had made to symbolise that entry into Parliament was a "hard nut to crack" for women and the King Edward Memorial Hospital, a women's and maternity hospital that she helped establish.

Innovative new security features have been incorporated in the $50 Banknote to help keep it secure from counterfeiting, similar to the $5  and $10 Banknotes already introduced into circulation, such as the top-to-bottom clear window that contains several dynamic features including a reversing number and a flying bird. 

There is also a patch with a rolling colour effect and micro-print featuring excerpts from Unaipon's book "Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborgines" and Cowan's maiden speech to western Australian Parliament.

There is also the image of Unaipon's "ngaitji" or toem and of Cowan's home state of Western Australia.

The Banknote also has areas that are visible only under ultra-violet light, intaglio printing and tactile features along the edge in the form of raised bumps to assist visually impaired users.

The serial number appears on the side of the Banknote depicting Cowan and the signatures appear on the side depicting Unaipon.

The Size of this Banknote is 151.0 mm x 65 mm, which is the same size as the existing $50 Banknotes and uses the same colour palette.The date of first release is 18.10.2018.

The existing $50 polymer Banknotes will continue to be legal tender for the time being. The existing Banknotes will be progressively withdrawn from circulation in a manner, so as not to inconvenience the users.

In keeping with the common features of portraying a different species of native Australian wattle and bird, the $50 Banknote features the Wattle - "Acacia humifusa" and the Black Swan ("Cygnus atratus")

"Acacia humifusa":

This is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae. It is native to an area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.


         An image of the Acacia humifusa Wattle flowers and leaves
The shrub is erect and spreading and grows to a height of 0.4 to 2.0 metres (say, about 1.0 to 7.0 feet). It grows mostly in sandy soils over sandstone oe quartzite and rocky hill-slopes. It blooms from January to April or June to august producing yellow flowers.

The Black Swan ("Cygnus atratus"):

The Black Swan is a large water-bird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the South-east and South-west regions of Australia.

Within Australia, they are nomadic with erratic patterns dependent upon climatic conditions.



Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills.

Black swans were introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s, but have now formed stable populations in most places. They are popular birds in zoological gardens and bird collections.

The Black Swan's preferred habitat extends across fresh, brackish and salt water lakes, wetlands,  swamps, open sea near islands and rivers with underwater and emergent vegetation for food and nesting materials.

The current global population is estimated at about 5000,000 individuals ant the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status for them is of "LC" ("Least Concern") worldwide. The Black Swan is protected in New South Wales, Australia, under the "National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974".

Posted on 09.05.2019:

About 46 million new A$50 Banknotes in Australia have been printed with an inadvertent typographical error that was overlooked by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) before being printed and circulated.

The error first became known, when a listener on radio outlet Triple M sent the station a magnified image of the new $50 Banknote, highlighting the word "responsibility", which was misspent as "responsibilty" thrice, in the excerpt of Edith Cowan's maiden speech to Western Australia's Parliament, which features on the $50 Banknote. 


An image of the $50 enlargement sent to Triple M, highlighting the error in the word responsibility

The excerpt on the $50 Banknote reads -

"I stand here today in the unique position of being the first woman in an Australian Parliament. It is a great responsibilty (spelt without the last "i" between l and t) to be the only woman here and I want to emphasise the necessity which exists for other women being here."


An image of the Banknote exhibiting the incorrect spelling in the word "responsibility"


The entire text of Cowan's maiden speech shows three places where the word "responsibility" has been incorrectly spelt



The new $50 Banknote is the first Banknote in RBA's history in which a Banknote with a spelling mistake has been put into circulation and is a source of great embarrassment to the RBA officials. The Proof usually goes through multiple approvals and how the proof reading/checking team, which would have looked at enlargements of the Banknote, let such a mistake/error go through indicates that some folks were not doing their job seriously/with meticulous diligence.


The reaction from the RBA was that they are now aware of the spelling mistake and will correct it in the next print run.

What does the printing error mean for collectors?

Obviously, this is an error Banknote in the hands of several users. It is quite possible now, that several of these Banknotes would find their way into Banknote collections, particularly in the hope that the error Notes may be withdrawn from circulation

Even if the Banknote is not withdrawn from circulation,  despite the large number of Banknotes printed of this denomination with the spelling mistake, it has the potential to appreciate in Collector value over a period of time. 

So, whoever has got this Banknote in Mint condition, file it away and wait for the appreciation to take place, over a period of few years. After all, it is Reserve Bank of Australia's first ever error Banknote.



A special thanks to Sarvashri S.K Khanna and Piyush Jain, who first brought the news about this error Banknote to my notice.









Links to posts on Australia, New Zealand and countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific on this Blog:



2) Papua New Guinea: An uncirculated coin set brought out in 1995 commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Independence 


 3) Currency & Coinage of the Solomon Islands: Dollars and Cents

4) New Zealand: New Banknote "Seventh Series" issued under Project "Brighter Money" from 2015 onwards

5) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of Caledonia (or Nouvelle Caledonie) the CFP Franc  

6) French Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific and the French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emmission d'outre Mer (IEOM)

7) Currency & Coinage of Samoa: Tala and Sene 

8) Currency of the South Pacific Island Country of Fiji 

9) Coinage of New Zealand: A commemorative coin set issued in 1979 

10) Currency and Coinage of Australia: Dollars and Cents 

11) The Australian Emblem or the Coat of Arms 

12) The story of the Australian Penny 

13) The Legend of the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Commemorative Coin Set from the Pitcairn Islands depicting relics from the Bounty issued in 2009 

14) An Australian $5 coin issued in 1996, commemorating Australia's greatest cricketing legend - Sir Donald Bradman 

15) New Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced from 01.09.2016 onwards starting from $5 issues 

16) Southern Lights: A $1 Silver holographic coin issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in January 2017

17) Currency & coinage of the Kingdom of Tonga : Pa'anga & Seniti 

18) Postage Stamps & Coin: Commemorating the Centenary of the Trans-Australian Railway Line stamps issued by Australia Post & coins by Perth Mint on 04.07.2017


20) The Earth and Beyond Coin Series issued by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM): First coin in the series - The Earth - issued on 03.04.2018


21) Wedge Tailed Eagle Coin Series: 200 Dollars Gold, 100 Dollars Gold & 1 Dollar Silver coins brought out by the Perth Mint, Australia in its on-going series started in 2014 in collaboration with John Mercanti, Chief Engraver of the US Mint: Coins issued in 2018


22) Australian Kangaroo Coin Series: 25th Anniversary Commemoration: A $100 Gold Coin and a $10 Silver Coin with selective gold plating issued by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) in 2018


23) "Kangaroo at Sunset": The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) is phasing out this iconic $25 Gold Coin from its repertoire of Commemorative Coins in 2018


24) "Discovery": An exclusive one piece - 2 Kilo Gold Coin studded with four Argyle Pink Diamonds/Gemstones minted by the Perth Mint, Australia in co-ordination with the Argyle Pink Diamonds Mine on 04.09.2018


25) "The Moon": The Earth and Beyond three Silver Coin Series: Royal Australian Mint issues the second coin in the series - a silver coloured Five (AUD) Dollars Concave-shaped (Domed) Coin on 03.09.2018


26) New $10 Australian Banknote issued on 18.09.2017 under the "Fourth Series of Banknotes": New generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced in a phased manner from 09/2016 onwards by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)

27) New Australian 50 Dollar Banknote (AUD $50) issued in 10/2018, under the "Fourth Series of Banknotes": New Generation of Australian Banknotes introduced in a phased manner from 09/2016 onwards by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)

Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:
Links to posts on issues from the Republic of Palau:





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