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Bank of New South Wales Banknotes: 1817-1819 |
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The archives of the Bank of New South Wales show that from its date of opening on 8th April, 1817, banknotes were issued in three denominations - £5, £1, and 10 shillings. A few days later, 5 shillings banknotes were issued. The notes were made payable to J. Lee, or bearer and were all designed by Clayton's of Sydney. On the reverse of the notes, the following security inscription was printed - Let us possess the public Confidence so long only as, by a faithful Discharge of the honorable Trust reposed in us, we may shew ourselves worth of it.To alleviate a shortage of circulating coins for small transactions, paper tokens (or coupons) were also issued from the opening day in denominations of Two Shillings, One Shilling and Sixpence, and One Shilling. This practice was stopped and all paper tokens were recalled in June that year. In August, the bank began issuing paper tokens for Two Shillings and Sixpence.
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