1893 Bank of Adelaide One Pound

This is an original specimen note from The Bank of Adelaide, one of Australia’s early colonial banks.

Its offering today reflects our respect for quality. Archived for more than a century by London engravers and printers Bradbury & Wilkinson, the note still retains its original characteristics and original colour, unaffected by the passing of time.

The paper is crisp. The note’s design detail and depth of colour is startling. It’s as though it has been time-capsuled for the last 127 years.

The offering of this note also reflects our respect for history. The Bank of Adelaide was formed in 1865 in Adelaide, South Australia.

Public confidence in the formation of the bank was so high that 180,000 applications for shares were received, even though only 50,000 shares were available for allotment.

The bank survived for 115 years before being absorbed by the ANZ banking group in 1980.

The Bank of Adelaide was one of very few financial institutions to survive the banking crisis of the 1890’s without closing its doors and by the middle of the 20th century was regarded as a pillar of the Adelaide establishment.