DC01 Scarce Mint UNC consecutive serial set of 3 of 100th anniversary 2001 Federation Commemorative Banknotes.
Scarcer as consecutive serial numbers and as such bound to make a great investment. With a run also providing the buyer the opportunity to see the interesting hiden digitized "5" through the filter window without compromising the pristine grading of notes, otherwise necessary if you were to try and see this with a single note. The pristine grading ensuring the visibility of a feature not seen on any other Australian banknotes. A feature not replicated again since, partly due to the inability of the window filter to withstand the rigours of circulation and as such not easily seen with lesser grade federation banknotes.
Therefore this consecutive serial ‘Federation’ run will surely make a nice acquisition for the future, particularly as the issue was the very last and only newly formatted Macfarlane & Evans combination a forerunner of 21st century polymers with ‘Governor’ Macfarlane now above ‘Secretary’ Evans signature position and not found on earlier Macfarlane and Evans issues under the original signatories format.
Design
ide of the note combining perfectly with three points on the other side.
5. A hidden number ‘5’ below the small printed triangle in the bottom right hand corner of the back of the note is revealed when that area of the note is viewed through the mauve coloured area of the clear window. To see this better fold the note so that the triangle in the window is on top of, and in direct contact with, the printed triangle. To accentuate the effect, move the triangle in the window around the printed triangle.
6. Intricate, multi-coloured, fine-line patterns and images appear on both sides of the note.
7. The serial number of each note is printed vertically on the reverse side of the note. Under ultraviolet light the serial number is fluorescent.
8. Under ultraviolet light on the reverse of the note, the stars of the Southern Cross, the sunburst, the yellow orientation bars at the top and bottom of the note, and the wattle flowers will all fluoresce. There is a spray of wattle leaves and the numeral ‘5’, that are normally not visible, which also become visible under ultraviolet light.
Obverse: Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was an Australian statesman, the “Father of Federation.”
As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the then colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he is generally considered the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers. Parkes was described during his lifetime by The Times as “the most commanding figure in Australian politics”. Alfred Deakin described him as “though not rich or versatile, his personality was massive, durable and imposing, resting upon elementary qualities of human nature elevated by a strong mind. He was cast in the mould of a great man and though he suffered from numerous pettinesses, spites and failings, he was in himself a large-brained self-educated Titan whose natural field was found in Parliament and whose resources of character and intellect enabled him in his later years to overshadow all his contemporaries”.
Reverse: Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was an Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician and leading suffragette. In 1897 she became Australia’s first female political candidate after standing (unsuccessfully) for the Federal Convention held in Adelaide. Known as the “Greatest Australian Woman” and given the epitaph “Grand Old Woman of Australasia”, Spence is commemorated on the Australian 5 dollar note issued for the Centenary of Federation of Australia. Spence was born in Melrose, Scotland, as the fifth child in a family of eight. In 1839, following sudden financial difficulties, the family emigrated to South Australia, arriving in November 1839 at a time when the colony had experienced several years of drought and the contrast to her native Scotland made her “inclined to go and cut my throat”. Nevertheless, the family endured seven months “encampment” growing wheat on an eighty acre (32 ha) selection before moving to Adelaide.
Watermark: With the introduction of the new polymer banknotes we saw the end of the customary watermark. It was replaced with a Variable Optical Security Devices.
History
The original lyrics for Advance Australia Fair were published in 1879 were as follows:
Australia’s sons let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In hist’ry’s page, let ev’ry stage
Advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia fair.
When gallant Cook from Albion sailed,
To trace wide oceans o’er,
True British courage bore him on,
Til he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England’s flag,
The standard of the brave;
“With all her faults we love her still”
“Britannia rules the wave.”
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.
While other nations of the globe
Behold us from afar,
We’ll rise to high renown and shine
Like our glorious southern star;
From England soil and Fatherland,
Scotia and Erin fair,
Let all combine with heart and hand
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.
Should foreign foe e’er sight our coast,
Or dare a foot to land,
We’ll rouse to arms like sires of yore,
To guard our native strand;
Britannia then shall surely know,
Though oceans roll between,
Her sons in fair Australia’s land
Still keep their courage green.
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.*
The 1901 Federation version of the third verse was originally sung as:
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,
We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
To make our youthful Commonwealth
Renowned of all the lands;
For loyal sons beyond the seas
We’ve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair!*
*All biographical details are taken from Wikipedia for education purposes only.