Australia’s Next Generation Banknote $50 Is Now In Circulation - A True Black Swan Event
One of the biggest business books of the past decade was surely "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable”, written by Nassim Taleb and published in 2007.
Taleb's book focuses on the impact that rare and unpredictable events have, as well as the human tendency to retrospectively find simplistic explanations for these events. (Named by Taleb as "Black Swan Theory”).
As the release of Australia’s NGB $50 note into circulation on October 10th 2018 had been meticulously planned and even publicised it definitely would not be classified by Taleb as a "Black Swan event", however as there are several black swans featured in the designs either side, we may be able to classify the launch as a black swan event on that technicality....
The table below lists the main characteristics of each of Australia's NGB notes, you can see that there are two black swans listed as visible on the $50:
|
Security Features |
$5.00 |
$10.00 |
$50.00 |
|
Top Right Rolling Colour |
Flying Eastern Spinebill & Prickly Moses Wattle |
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo & Bramble Wattle |
Black Swan |
|
Bottom Left Security Feature In Clear Window |
Federation Star |
Pen Nib |
Open Book |
|
Top-To-Bottom Window Feature |
3D Federation Star |
3D Pen Nib |
3d Book |
|
Top-To-Bottom Window Feature |
Flying Eastern Spinebill & Prickly Moses Wattle |
Flying Cockatoo |
Colourful Black Swan |
|
Top-To-Bottom Window Feature |
Colourful Eastern Spinebill |
Colourful Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo |
Flying Black Swan |
|
Top-To-Bottom Window Feature |
Reversing 5 in Federation Pavillion |
Reversing 10 in Homestead |
Raukkan Church |
|
Flowers Either Side of Clear Window |
Prickly Moses Wattle |
Bramble Wattle |
Acacia Humifusa |
|
Tactile Feature |
1 Raised Dot |
2 Raised Dots |
4 Raised Dots |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Release Date |
September 1st 2016 |
September 20th 2017 |
October 10th 2018 |
There is an additional black swan in the designs however, one that only becomes visible when the note is placed under ultra-violet light, as you can see in the images below.
I believe the muted public reception of the NGB $50 note is due to the design and colour continuity between the 1st Generation $50 note and the NGB $50 - compare the two together and you’ll see they are very, very similar.I believe the improvement in printing technology has allowed the lines in the intaglio print to be applied much more finely than on previous designs - that is plainly evident when comparing the two portraits of Edith Cowan to each other.
As the $50 note is the denomination seen in circulation more often than any other denomination, this in turn means that the 1st prefixes will be much rarer relative to all of the other prefixes printed for this denomination across 2018.
Due to the sheer number of notes required to replace those in circulation, my understanding is that up to 3 different sheets will be used - 2 more than was used for either the NGB $5 or the NGB $10.
A Distinct Western Australian Theme
Us Sangropers here in Western Australia can often complain that we're overlooked in the general scheme of things when it comes to such things as the distribution of the GST and credit where credit is due - whether such complaints are valid or not are of course quite another thing.
The NGB $50 note has a distinct West Aussie theme to it however:
- Edith Cowan was Western Australian born and bred;
- The black swan is featured on the Western Australia's State coat of arms;
- King Edward Memorial Hospital is featured on the top left of the front of the note;
- The wattle used within the designs of this note (Acacia Humifusa) is native to the Kimberley region of the Far North of WA;and
- An outline of the seating plan for the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia can be seen on the right hand side of the front of the note when under ultra violet light.
