Private Bank Issues

Lot 2715    SESSION 9 - 4.30PM Wednesday 30 July    Private Bank Issues

Estimate $250,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

GOVERNMENT OF QUEENSLAND, superscribed on The Queensland National Bank Limited, an issue for Government of Queensland as a Treasury Note, Brisbane, one pound, dated 2nd June 1893 for superscribed part and 1 January 1891 on original note (both dates printed), numbered A000178 on superscribed Treasury part, and on original note No C324178, on paper, signatures for accountant only on original note, imprint of 'Perkins Bacon & Co. London' (Vort-Ronald, Superscribed part Fig.209 [p.200], original note Fig.214 & 215, [p.206-207], further comments p.199-203, also Tomlinson p.111-2 this note, and this note illustrated p.112). Good very fine and extremely rare, of the greatest historical importance.

Ex Spink-Stern Sale October 30, 1975 (lot 476 the Walsgott specimen and illustrated, and Spink Australia Sale 14 (lot 133 and illustrated), Dr Alan Nicholson Collection, Noble Numismatics Sale 49 (lot 1573) and Sale 71 (lot 3025) where it realised a record $209,700.

In Queensland, April 1893 was the month and year of the 'Great Bank Crash'. The situation was critical with the Queensland National Bank at that time, not only the main bank in that State, it was also the largest bank with the largest note circulation and in over twenty towns it was the only bank. Furthermore, it was the banker to the Government. On May 15 it too had to suspend business and this plunged all Queensland into chaos. Most banks closed their doors apart from the Bank of Australasia, the Union Bank, the Bank of New South Wales and the Queensland Government Savings Bank.

Some 27 years earlier in 1866 the then Queensland Government had to face an earlier financial crisis, and on that occasion it finally had to issue its own notes in the form of Treasury Notes to provide an acceptable currency and allow business to continue. It had been slow to act on that occasion but it had learned a lesson, and in 1893 it acted swiftly. It obtained banknotes from eight of the private banks and superscribed them with an overprint converting them into notes guaranteed by the Queensland Government and by June 2 was able to issue these notes, in four denominations: £1, £5, £10 and £20. The Queensland Superscribed Notes were followed by a permanent Government Note issue, and in fact the Queensland Government continued to issue its own notes for the next seventeen years until they were superseded by the first issue of notes by the recently created Commonwealth Government.

It is of particular interest to note that in 1910 when the Commonwealth decided to issue its own notes and time ran short, it followed the precedent set in Queensland in the 1893 depression and the first Australian Notes were created by following the Queensland example and overprinting a range of note forms obtained from the private banks. This specimen of a Superscribed Queensland Government Note is believed to be the second only such note known from this bank. It is of much importance not only because of its crucial role in the economic history of Queensland but also because it set the precedent for the first issue of Commonwealth Notes.

It can be argued that this note is one of the most important if not the most important single item of paper currency in the history of Australia prior to the first Commonwealth note issues in 1910 because of its role as precursor to those issues.