Aust. Banknotes - Specimen Notes

Lot 2782    Session 10 (7.30pm Wednesday 23 November)    Aust. Banknotes - Specimen Notes

Estimate $4,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA TREASURY BILL, No.R 002724 issued at Sydney (20th 'crossed out') 31th (sic) day of (May 'crossed out')March 1982 for Twelve hundred million dollars (written), and $1 200 000 000 (written at top left), payable to the bearer at the Reserve Bank of Australia at Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart or Darwin on 30 June 1982, secured on the Consolidated Revenue of the Commonwealth of Australia, printed signature of John Stone, Secretary to the Treasury and penned signature of the Registrar of Stock, perforated PAID cancellation at each edge of bottom corners. One small stain at lower left and a few light creases, otherwise extremely fine and very rare.

Treasury bills were issued by the Australian Government to provide short term loans into the Commonwealth Public Account, namely the Government's principal account held at the Reserve Bank in Sydney. When this Treasury Bill of $1,200,000,000 was issued, Australia was being led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and the treasurer was John Howard. At this time Australia was in the grip of a recession with major deficit problems, rising unemployment, a major wage breakout, massive interest rates (standard home loan variable rate 13.5%) and inflation over ten percent.

It was in this climate that this large value Treasury Bill was issued and it is also probably the reason that the date of issue was moved forward from May to March, also probably so the Commonwealth could meet its commitment to the States.

This Treasury Bill was one of the last issued as a move to Treasury Notes was already underway and in June the tender system for Treasury Bonds was commenced. This move to a tendering system supported the Government being able to fully fund its budget without recourse to central bank financing.

Thus this Treasury Bill offered here is rare because of its high face value of $1.2 billion dollars and the probability that such bills were normally destroyed after their use.