1911 London Bank of Australia Ltd Five Pounds

$ 9,500

Sold September 2017

Specimen

Spink London 2010

More than a century of Australian history is presented in this crisp, colonial banknote. Australia’s private banking sector exploded following the gold rush of the 1850s; one of the new banks formed was the London Bank of Australia Ltd. The bank was established in London in 1852 to exploit the rapidly expanding economies of the Australian colonies with its first Australian branch opening in Sydney and Melbourne in 1853. During the financial crisis of 1893, a run on deposits forced the bank to suspend payments and close its doors. While many other private banks failed, the London Bank of Australia showed its resilience when it re-opened four months later and continued to robustly trade. The history of this colonial bank lives on. The London Bank of Australia Limited was subsequently absorbed by the English, Scottish and Australian Bank Limited in 1921 (ES&A) which in turn amalgamated with the ANZ Bank in 1970.