A superb example from the general prefix serials of the new Next Generation $5 series.
Not a mark or scratch to be seen and as new in every respect. These are the types of notes that great numismatic collections are based on.
The market is accepting their arrival with vigor and sales are very good indeed.
Get on board to avoid higher prices later on.
Design
Next Generation Five Dollars banknotes released by Reserve Bank of Australia on 1st September 2016.
Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II with Gum Branch
Reverse: Old and New Parliament House, Capital Hill, Canberra
Signatories: Glen Stevens, Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia
John Fraser, Secretary to the Treasury
Width: 130.00mm
Height: 65.00mm
Composition: Polymer
Watermark: The introduction of polymer banknotes saw the end of the customary Watermark. It was replaced with a Variable Optical Security Device in the bottom corner. The clear window [Optical Security Device] contains a stylised gum [eucalyptus] flower.
New security features of the Next generation banknote are:.
A holographic image of an Eastern Spinebill. The eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) which is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as some areas of Sydney and Melbourne. It is around 15 cm in length and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
There are also yellow Wattle flowers, a native plant to Australia.
A three-dimensional Federation Star.
A portrait of the Queen Elizabeth II who came to the throne in 1952 and appears with a eucalyptus gum branch.
Image of the new Parliament House and the Forecourt Mosaic, which opened in Canberra in 1988.
Special note: Since the beginning of Australian banknote production it has always been that the First and Last Prefix have always retained a higher value, and rise in value more so than the middle prefixes. These middle prefixes are generally refered to as General Prefixes.
The raw banknote sheet is printed with 6 notes horizontally and 9 notes vertically.
Each note on the sheet has a different prefix of 2 letters and the entire sheet is stamped with the exact same serial number at the time of production.
The entire prefix list is:
1st: AA16
General:
AB-AC-AD-AE-AF-AG-AH-AI-AJ-AK (11)
BA-BB-BC-BD-BE-BF-BG-BH-BI-BJ-BK (22)
CA-CB-CC-CD-CE-CF-CG-CH-CI-CJ-CK- (33)
DA-DB-DC-DD-DE-DF-DG-DH-DI-DJ-DK (44)
EA-EB-EC-ED-EE-EF-EG-EH-EI- Total (54)
Last: EJ16
History
Public reaction to new Next Generation banknotes
Benedict Brook at news.com.au
It’s fair to say the reaction to Australia’s new $5 note has been mixed. And when I say “mixed”, I mean Australia is currently, as a nation, ropeable about what’s just happened to their beer tokens.
On Tuesday, Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens lauded the new pink note’s true blue features: “Each banknote will depict a different species of Australian wattle and a native bird within a number of the elements. On the $5 banknote, these are the Prickly Moses wattle and the Eastern Spinebill.”
But it’s Australians themselves who are feeling prickly as the new note instantly faced an avalanche of criticism.
It has variously been called similar to a “mid-80s primary school mural”, having all the appeal of “vomit” or simply “HIIIIIIIIIDEOUS”.
A thousand monkeys with a thousand versions of Photoshop could never come up with something as hideous as the new Australian $5 note. — Chris Miller
The Today Show’s Lisa Wilkinson even wondered if the Queen had been given a bit of a nip and tuck on the new note.
But it all could have been so different. Across the globe, central banks have been revamping their banknotes, coming up with truly memorable and, some might argue, more on point designs than Australia’s new fiver.