On offer here is a  highly collectible example of a 1996 Fifty Dollar banknote from Australia.
It is from the 2nd year of polymer note production and only has one small flaw.
If you look carefully to the lower right of David Unaipon on the note Obverse you will see it has a very light corner fold.
Obviously the corner got caught up in someones wallet at some stage.
It is however, a wonderful example overall.
Design
A remarkable banknote in every way with abundant security features. This note had some extremely special features built into it as security against forgery. It was a world first and makes these notes highly desirable as collectors items. Collectors value numerous variations of this note.
The 50 dollar note embraces these following security features:
- Within the clear window is printed a stylised image of a compass along with embossing of the number 50. These can be seen seen from either side of the note.
- When the note is held up to the light a seven pointed star within a circle is formed by four points on one side of the note combining perfectly with three points on the other.
- When the note is held up to the light an image of the Australian Coat of Arms can be seen under other printing.
- The words FIFTY DOLLARS are microprinted and can be seen with the aid of a magnifying glass.
- Slightly raised printing (intaglio) that can be felt with the fingers is used for the portraits and other major design elements.
- Highly intricate multi-coloured fine-line patterns and images appear on each side.
- Each notes serial number is printed twice, in black on the reverse of the note. A different font is used for each number. The alpha prefix of two letters is followed by two numerals representing the year of its production followed by a further six numerals. Under ultra-violet light, these serial numbers fluoresce.
- Under ultra-violet light the notes denominational patch showing the number 50 becomes visible on the back of the note.
Obverse:
David Unaipon (28 September 1872, Point Mcleay (Raukkan) Mission – 7 February 1967) was an Australian Aboriginal of the Ngarrindjeri people, a preacher, inventor and writer. Today, he is featured on the Australian $50 note in commemoration. David Unaipon was awarded ten patents, including a shearing machine, but did not have enough money to get his inventions developed. He was also known as the Australian Leonardo da Vinci for his mechanical ideas, which included anticipatory drawings for a helicopter design based on the principle of a boomerang and his research into harnessing the secret of perpetual motion.
Reverse:
Dame Edith Cowan (1861–1932) is best remembered as the very first woman member of the Australian parliament. She was, however, a true Australian pioneer in many ways being a social worker, feminist and politician.
Watermark:Â Â
With the introduction of the new polymer banknotes we saw the end of the customary Cook watermark. It was replaced with the Variable Optical Security Device in the bottom corner.
History
In the last few years polymer banknote technology has been adopted more and more widely.
In the last 2 years alone we have seen:
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand introduced a new family of notes with improved security features, with the $5 and $10 notes in October 2015, and the $20, $50 and $100 notes in April 2016.
In 2015, Clydesdale Bank issued two million 5 pound notes, printed in polymer. It features a portrait of Sir William Arrol and an image of the Forth Bridge.
The Royal Bank of Scotland issued a 5-pound note, which was printed on Giesecke & Devrient’s “Hybrid” polymer substrate. It was issued to commemorate the Ryder Cup.
In 2015, the Reserve Bank of India plans to introduce polymer banknotes on a pilot basis and improve security features to defeat the efforts of counterfeiters.
The Bank of Lebanon (Banque du Liban) issued a 50,000 livres banknote in polymer to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Lebanese Army.
The Bank of Papua New Guinea issued 10 and 20 kina notes in polymer, one to commemorate the XV Pacific Games and the other to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Papua New Guinean independence.
The Maldives Authority Monetary introduced a new family of banknotes printed on De La Rue’s “Safeguard” polymer substrate. A commemorative 5,000 Rufiyaa banknote was issued in July 2015, and followed by the 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 500 and a new denomination, 1,000 Rufiyaa in October 2015.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a set of polymer banknotes to commemorate the nation’s 50th anniversary of independence. It consists of five S$10 notes and a commemorative S$50 note.
On 9 September 2015, the Bank of Canada (Banque du Canada) issued a 20 dollar polymer note to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s milestone as the longest-reigning monarch in Canada’s modern era. It is similar to the regular issue 20 dollar polymer note, but the notable features for the commemorative note are the metallic portrait of the queen, based on a photograph taken by renowned Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, the metallic symbol including the Queen’s mongram surmounted by the St. Edward’s crown, surrounded by a garland of maple leaves and the text “A HISTORIC REIGN • UN RÈGNE HISTORIQUE” repeated at the top, center and bottom of the large window.
The Government of Gibraltar issued a 100-pounds sterling polymer banknote to commemorate Sir Joshua Hassan’s 22 years as Chief Minister in the first half of 2016.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is set to issue £5 and £10 banknotes in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The notes will be printed on De La Rue’s Safeguard polymer substrate.
The Banco Central de Nicaragua issued a new family of notes on 26 October 2015. They are printed in polymer, except for the 500 cordobas banknote, which is printed on cotton paper substrate.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand issued $5 and $10 notes with improved security features on 12 October 2015.
On September 1, 2016, the Reserve Bank of Australia issued a five-dollar polymer note with improved security features and a tactile feature to assist those with visual impairments.
On 13 September 2016 the Bank of England started issuing the new polymer £5 note, the first to be issued in England and Wales.
In 2016, the Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank issued polymer £5 notes for general use in Scotland.
On March 17, 2017 the Reserve Bank of India announced that it will do trials of plastic ₹10 notes at five locations in India.
In 2017, the Bank of Canada (Banque du Canada) unveiled a $10 polymer banknote to commemorate the 150th anniversary of confederation. It was issued on June 1.
The Maldives Monetary Authority will issue a 5 rufiyaa banknote in polymer in July 2017. It was originally planned that this denomination was to be replaced by a coin of the same denomination, but public input convinced the Maldives Monetary Authority to go for the note.
In 2017, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of its Currency Interchangeability Agreement with Brunei and Singapore, both the Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam and the Monetary Authority of Singapore jointly issued $50 polymer banknotes for that event.
*Some additional information taken from Wikipedia for education purposes only.