Known variously as Private or Pre-Federation banks, note-issuing banks supplied the colonies, states and pre-federation commerce with paper currency for private and commercial transactions. The Bank of New South Wales, established in 1817, was the first. By 1841 another 23 banks had been formed, including branches of some London banks. From the 1850s gold rush to 1888 a further 32 banks opened their doors.
During the 1893 financial crisis, notes produced by any banks still surviving were legal tender and could not be refused as payment. They could be exchanged for gold, but only at a bank’s head office. The New South Wales and Queensland governments issued Treasury notes. Only nine banks remained in business during this brief but fraught period.
Most of these Private or Pre-Federation banknotes are rare or extremely rare, some having as few as one to five examples still in existence. The collector or investor may collect by bank and domicile as some branches issued their own notes. To obtain one note from each bank is a formidable challenge, made only slightly easier by the existence of proofs and specimens in printers’ and bank archives.