Australia 1877 - City of Melbourne Bank Limited £20 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)
High-denomination private banknotes such as £20 circulated exclusively within institutional and wholesale channels. They were used for interbank settlement, bullion transactions, and large commercial payments rather than everyday commerce. As a result, survival rates were exceptionally poor even during their own period of use. Following Federation and the Australian Notes Act of 1910, issued examples were recalled and destroyed, leaving specimens as the sole documentary record for many denominations. Read more →