This banknotenote is the first prefix from the second release.
It really is a shame that it has incurred a crease across the upper corner. Never the less apart from this detraction and some very light soiling in the same area as the crease it is still high collectible.
 Ever since their release these notes have proved to be incredibly popular with collectors and investors alike. This first prefix gem is still a fine example for any collection.
Design
Design Details and Serial Number Sequence:
The worlds very first polymer banknote. Released in 1988 to celebrate the Bicentennary of Australia. This note had an extremely special featuresbuilt into it as security against forgery being a hologram of Captain James Cook.. It was a world first and makes these notes highly desirable as collectors items. Collectors value numerous variations of this note. due to initial production problems.There were 3 releases of this note due to initial technical difficulties with the production techniques.
The first release AB10 – AB33 (with the first 2 digits of the serial number being either 93, 94 or 96) The note had a thin varnish over the hologram which proved to wear out very quickly. When the problem was identified the printing ceased.
The second release AB10-AB57 (followed by regular serial numbers) used the same prefixes as the first release but did not employ the 93,94,96 sequence after it. When printing resumed on this second run they applied a darker heavier varnish to the note which proved to work a great deal better.
The third release AA00-AA23 were released to the general public in blue coloured Bicentennial Commemorative $10 Note Folder. These are the most common on the market given that more people kept them as momentoes and they did not suffer from the initial printing process errors of the previous two issues.
Obverse:This design included the sailing ship HMS Supply anchored at Sydney Cove with a depiction of the early colonials in the background. These people symbolise all those who have contributed to Australia. From the left we see the early settlers and to right the modern working man.
Reverse: Reverse includes portraits of the native population, the main picture is a young native youth with ceremonial paint, and in the background is a traditional Aboriginal Morning Star Pole also appearing are other Aboriginal artworks also commissioned by the RBA and a human like figure from the Dream Tme.
Watermark: 1988 Commemorative note was the first to employ optically variable device of Captain James Cook who first mapped Botany Bay.
History
Sydney Cove was named after the British Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney. It was the site chosen by Captain Arthur Phillip between 21 and 23 January 1788 for the British penal settlement which is now the city of Sydney, and where possession of New South Wales was formally declared on 26 January (now commemorated as Australia Day). Today, the exact site where the flag was planted is not apparent, as in its place is Circular Quay and Buildings of Sydney CBD. Phillip’s instructions were to establish the settlement at Botany Bay, a large bay (further south of Sydney Cove) down the coast. Botany Bay had been discovered by Lieutenant James Cook during his voyage of discovery in 1770, and was recommended by the eminent botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied Cook, as a suitable site for a settlement. But Phillip discovered that Botany Bay offered neither a secure anchorage nor a reliable source of fresh water. Sydney Cove offered both of these, being serviced by a fresh water creek which was soon to be known as Tank Stream.
*All biographical details are taken from Wikipedia for education purposes only.