1967 Coombs Randall Twenty Dollars Consecutive Pair

In life, they say 'timing is everything'. And so it is with Australian banknotes bearing the Coombs Randall signatory combination. A rash of retirements in 1966, coinciding with a limited print run has made these notes exceedingly scarce.

Australia’s decimal changeover was in the planning stage for years, involving the introduction of decimal banknotes and the withdrawal of our pre-decimal notes. To be ahead of the game and to satisfy the needs of the public, the Government printed a massive quantity of the first decimal notes that featured the Coombs Wilson signature combination.

Then banknote signatory Roland Wilson retired on 27 October 1966. Notes featuring his replacement, Richard Randall, were simply not required until later in 1967 and even later in 1968 in the case of the one dollar note. And then Herbert Coombs retired in 1968, introducing a new signature combination of Phillips Randall into the equation: a combination that lasted several years.

A surplus of the very first decimal banknotes - and a spate of retirements of our banknote signatories within a two year timeframe - has meant that less than two per cent of all 'Commonwealth of Australia' (1966-73) notes were issued in the name of Herbert Coombs and Richard Randall.

The people who signed our banknotes in the early years of decimal changeover.

Herbert C. Coombs held the record for the longest stint as a signatory on Australian notes, a total of nineteen years from 1949 to 1968, signing as Governor of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and later on Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Roland Wilson signed our notes as Secretary to the Treasury from 1951 to 1966, retiring on 27 October 1966.

Richard J Randall was appointed Secretary to the Treasury from 28 October 1966 to 31 October 1971.