Description and research notes
Approved design proof for the 10 Dollars traveller’s cheque prepared by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited. Dated 1965 and annotated “As Submitted – Approved,” this is the final approved version that advanced to production, forming the reference model for the bank’s post-decimal traveller’s cheque issue. The engraving combines subtle multi-tone guilloche in olive and emerald green with precise microline work and a centred map-and-harbour vignette, emblematic of Sydney’s trade and maritime identity.
Three key physical elements confirm approval status: the round control punch appears on the left, directly over the facsimile-signature area (replaced by a punch on the right for the rejected notes); a fine red printed approval line runs along the lower edge reading, in part, “As Submitted – Approved – 15.6.65”; and the small alphanumeric code “B1” appears in the upper right corner, an internal Bradbury Wilkinson layout or colour-plate designation. The note bears no printed facsimile signatures, consistent with its status as a final approved design rather than a display proof.
This archival sheet was almost certainly the printer’s master record, with manuscript initials, filing notes, and a reverse date stamp verifying its approval sequence. Of the three denominations submitted in 1965 ($10, $20, and $50), this is the only design recorded as accepted by both the printer and the bank, leading directly to the CBC’s production traveller’s cheques of 1966. Only a handful of approved proofs are believed to exist, preserved in institutional or private archives. Together they mark the final generation of hand-engraved financial designs produced by Bradbury Wilkinson for Australian banks before decimalisation.