Description and research notes
A monumental survivor from Australia’s private banking era, this £100 note ranks among the most important colonial-era specimens known. Printed circa 1880–1910 for the Commercial Bank of Australia Limited, it predates the 1910 Australian Notes Act that abolished private currency issuance.
Engraved by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in London and printed locally by Sands & McDougall (S&McD) in Melbourne, the note embodies the collaborative evolution of Australian banknote production. The lower margin imprint, “Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., Engravers, London”, confirms its British master-plate origin, while the perforated specimen text “BW & Co LONDON” and printer notation identify it as an official archival reference piece.
At the centre sits an allegorical figure of Commerce, holding a caduceus and globe, surrounded by intricate lathe-work and industrial motifs symbolising prosperity. The vertical inscriptions in Chinese and English are a remarkable testament to Australia’s multicultural trade networks during the gold-rush and Victorian expansion period—few 19th-century notes anywhere in the world feature such bilingual design.
This specimen, bearing prefix A1 within the A1–A500 control range, represents the earliest known batch of its type. Issued £100 notes were fully redeemed and destroyed, leaving specimens such as this as the sole surviving records of the denomination. The note’s survival in PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated condition makes it not only a technical marvel but a window into the origins of Australian paper money.
Pick Unlisted and absent from all major catalogues, this piece sits at the crossroads of rarity, artistry, and historical importance. It captures the transition from the colonial banking system to the unified Commonwealth currency—an essential reference for students of Australian monetary history and an educational cornerstone for any advanced Commonwealth collection.