$10 note: RBA celebrates Australian writers in new design
Updated
The Reserve Bank of Australia has unveiled the design of the new $10 note, which features similar graphics to the new $5 note released last September that received a mixed reception from the public.
Did you know?
- The $10 note was first issued on 14 February 1966
- As at June 2016 there were 120 million $10 notes in circulation
- The $10 banknote is the only denomination in the polymer series to have something other than the value printed on it in microprint
- The tiny, clearly defined print on the banknote also shows the words to 'Banjo' Paterson's The Man from Snowy River
- Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson, a poet and ballad writer, was born in rural New South Wales
- Dame Mary Gilmore campaigned for a wide range of social and economic reforms, such as votes for women, old-age and invalid pensions
- Gilmore published numerous volumes of prose and poetry, particularly focussed on outback and rural themes
- The banknote features Gilmore's No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest in microprint
The $10 note incorporates the same top-to-bottom clear window as the $5 note, a clear patch with a rolling colour effect, and a "tactile" feature to help the vision impaired community distinguish between denominations.
The $10 note pays homage through symbolism to Dame Mary Gilmore and AB 'Banjo' Paterson, two celebrated Australian writers synonymous with Australian heritage.
"Their work is recognised in several design elements on the banknote, including images of a pen nib in two of the clear windows and excerpts of their poetry in microprint," RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.
The notes also incorporate Australiana illustrations such as a horseman, billabong, and a homestead which points to Paterson's classic poem The Man From Snowy River.
Each banknote in the new series will feature a different species of native Australian wattle and bird.
The $10 note features the Bramble Wattle (Acacia victoriae) and the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita).
Innovative new security features, such as complex holograms and areas that are only visible under UV light, have also been incorporated in the new $10 banknote to help keep them secure from counterfeiting.
The RBA has been working closely with various parties in recent years to ensure that the new banknotes can be used in a broad range of typical day-to-day transactions across the country, including in machines that take or dispense banknotes.
Although the new $10 banknotes will be issued in September, it may take some time for them to be widely circulated.
The existing series of banknotes can continue to be used as all previously issued banknotes remain legal tender.
Topics: money-and-monetary-policy, human-interest, australia
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