Lot 2789

Description

Bank of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, ten pounds, dated 1 Oct. 1904, (19- printed), numbered 29955, signed by E.H. Finch and entered by Pearson, imprint of 'Charles Skipper & East London', vignette in centre of woman seated, ship to left and sheep to right, ornamental round tablet with 10 in upper corners and TEN in tablet of circles lower left, all within rectangular ornate spiral border, states below, 'On Demand I promise to pay to the Bearer TEN POUNDS Sterling, Sydney .... For the Bank of New South Wales', back with TEN in bevelled rectangular block in the centre and geometric ovals in corners, brown/red on white, with circular postal franking 'Hurstville NSW Sp 1, 1906' and perforated twice 'Paid 14.9.23', (Vort-Ronald, Type seven, comments on bank and type p.67-85, similar notes but twenty pounds illustrated Fig.81 [p.80]). Nearly very fine and very rare, probably unique in private hands with a straight serial number.

The Bank of New South Wales ten pound notes of this type before have all come from the New England Hoard of 1971, (Pitchfork & Freehill, 'A Significant Hoard of Nineteenth Century Australian Commercial Banknotes' [ANS 1974 Yearbook]), where some 8 ten pound notes (which all had A/A prefix, in contrast to this note). The 'New England Hoard' had a total number of 123 banknotes which were mostly of the five pounds denomination. Type seven was an issue from the Bank of New South Wales that ran from 1848-1910, with this type for ten pounds in use for most of this period. It appears that this note was handed in and cashed in 1923.