australia polymer banknotes

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2019 - Here I have a complete collection of all Australian polymer notes (single note) issued since 1988, including all commemorative / numismatic notes, joint issues and special serial numbered issues. The only set that I do not have, at the moment, is the 1998 $10 Portraits AA98/AB98 (with or without frame). This $10 Portrait set was a failure at that time and the series was later withdrawn as it was not popular among collectors. The price was not right then for me too and that was why I didn't buy them. It was the NPA intention then to release all portrait sets on a yearly basis starting with the $10 note and collectors were also given the opportunity to get them all with matching serial numbers too. Unfortunately this was not to be the case.

* Australian banknotes are also the official currency of Christmas Island, Norfolk Islands, Keeling and Cocos Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. The Australian banknotes were also once circulating as an official currency of Hebrides (Vanuatu), Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands prior to gaining independence. *

"no borrowed scans here nor i cut and pasted from other web sites. all notes posted here are all mine"

25 September 2000

Australia Pounds, Shillings and Pence to Dollars and Cents Converted on 14.02.1966

Australia switched from Pounds, Shillings and Pence to Dollars and Cents on Valentine day in 1966 (14.02.1966). Australia had wanted to switch over from the imperial system for many years but only to be blocked by the British government then.

The switching to decimal currency provides many economic benefits as it is easier to calculate and good for trades too. At that time of the conversion, only a handful of nations still used the imperial British system - Pounds, Shillings and Pence.

The imperial British system of currency calculations are:-

One pound = 20 shillings
One shilling = 12 pence
240 pence = one pound

So, one pound can be made up of 10 shillings and 120 pence or say 19 shillings and 12 pence. Imagine the numbers of combinations you can work out with and the difficulty in getting it correct, especially if you are a foreigner and you are not familiar with the system. Bear in mind that pocket electronic calculators were not invented then until the early 1970s.

When you compare with the decimal, one dollar equals 100 cents, this is a much easier system and is also a faster way to work it out too.

When the decision is made to convert, a new name is needed for the new currency. At that time, the Prime Minister of Australia was Robert Menzies (b.1894-1978) who was a strong supporter of the British Monarch, and he favored the name Royal. However, his idea was not popular among the public and the government was forced to abandon that name and accept the currency as we are now, Dollars and Cents. It would be a much easier conversion if they maintained the currency as Pounds and Pence in decimal (1 pound = 100 pence/cents) just like what the British did on 15.02.1971.

In case you wonder, here are some of the names considered by the government back in the 1960s to name the new Australia currency - Boomer, the Digger, the Dinkum, the Emu, the Kanga, the Ming, Oz, the Quid, the Roo and the Royal. Fortunately, the Dollar won the battle! Similarly, New Zealand too did the same and some of their proposed names were - the Fern, Kiwi, Zeal. Lucky for them, they too picked the name dollar as their new currency on 10.07.1967.

The conversion day was called Changeover day and it just went smoothly without a hitch!