Description and research notes
Rejected design proof for the 50 Dollars traveller's cheque prepared by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, London, for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited. Submitted on 23 March 1965 and annotated in the left margin "Not approved, letter 12.4.65," this sheet preserves the top denomination from the first formal design stage of the bank's 1965 traveller's cheque programme. It forms the high-value counterpart to the 20 Dollars rejected design proof submitted on the same date, and together the two pieces define the March 1965 submitted design direction within the surviving Bradbury Wilkinson proof-room sequence.
The 50 Dollars design is the most imposing of the three known denomination specimens. Its rose and pink tonal structure gives the sheet a strong high-value identity, while the darker engraved border, corner denomination tablets, and layered security background create the visual weight expected of a top denomination. The central Australia map motif, circular "C.B.C." medallion, and large scripted amount line connect it directly to the broader series, but the 50 Dollars proof carries a richer and more formal presence than the lower values. The result is a highly finished presentation-stage security design, combining corporate cheque clarity with Bradbury Wilkinson and Company's late intaglio craftsmanship.
Its approval-trail features are central to its importance. The top margin records "As Submitted 23.3.65," placing the sheet in the original March submission. The left margin carries the handwritten review annotation referring to the 12 April 1965 letter, linking this proof directly to the same correspondence trail as the 20 Dollars example. A round control punch appears at the right, and the printed facsimile signature is present in the lower left signature area. These elements make the proof a physical record of the bank-printer review process rather than a general specimen or display item.
This 50 Dollars proof gains additional significance through its relationship to the later photographic proofs of the same denomination. The April 1965 50 Dollars photographic proof records the early review phase following the March submission, while the 15 June 1965 photographic proof shows the revised, lighter treatment around the bank-name area. That 15 June date is shared with the approved 10 Dollars design proof, making the revised 50 Dollars photographic proof a key bridge between the rejected March submission and the June design direction that led to July approval. The present 50 Dollars specimen is therefore the essential starting point for understanding the top denomination's development.
As the highest denomination in The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited's surviving 1965 traveller's cheque proof group, this sheet is a discovery-level archival record. Its submission date, rejection annotation, top-denomination role, right-side control punch, printed signature element, and direct connection to the April and June photographic proof stages place it among the defining pieces of the documented approval sequence. It preserves Bradbury Wilkinson and Company's original 50 Dollars design proposal at the exact point where the series moved from formal submission into review, revision, and eventual acceptance of the cleaner June design language.