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 This $10 Portrait set was a failure at that time and the series was later withdrawn as it was not popular among collectors.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 2001

How to tell if you have a genuine or a fake polymer banknote?

How can you tell if you have a genuine or a fake polymer note in your hand?

Have you ever asked yourselves this question before? On a few occasions, when making payment over the counters, the cashiers did a simple test to see if the polymer note that I handed over was genuine or a counterfeit. This usually happens when you pay with a high denomination note such as $50 or $100 notes. 

 Back in the old days, they would just hold up the paper notes against the light and look for the watermark. Given that polymer notes do not come with a watermark, this is how they do the simple test. First simply crush the banknote with your palm like squeezing it into a ball and then let it go immediately. The note should spring back immediately for a genuine note. If not, then you may have a fake one in your hand. 

 Of course I do not expect you to try this one one of your uncirculated notes especially if you may only have one piece in your collection. For those collectors living in a country that are now fully converted to polymer notes, give it a try. Do your experiment on a circulated one. You still get the same result.

 Enjoy your fun!