2019-10-07 Mon

On October 9th 2019 the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Bank Governor Philip Lowe will release the new $20 banknote into general circulation. They will be in circulation with the existing $20 banknotes.

The new $20 banknote features portraits of two Australians known for their enterprise and ingenuity. Mary Reibey was a convict who became a successful businesswoman, and Reverend John Flynn pioneered the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The banknote also includes new security features, such as a rolling color effect and a top-to-bottom window included on the new $5, $10 and $50 banknotes issued over the past three years as part of the upgrade of Australia’s banknotes.

The Governor also said of the new banknote: “Improved security and ease of recognition are important characteristics of the new $20 banknote. The same innovative security features from the previously released $5, $10 and $50 banknotes have been incorporated to help keep them secure from counterfeiting.”

These features include a top-to-bottom clear window that contains dynamic elements, including a flying kookaburra that moves its wings and changes color, and a reversing number ‘20’. There is also a patch with a rolling-color effect and microprint featuring excerpts from Flynn’s book The Bushman’s Companion (1916) and the names of Reibey’s ships. As with the $5, $10 and $50, the new banknote includes representations of a wattle and a native bird. The $20 features Acacia buxifolia and a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae).

The new banknotes also have a ‘tactile’ feature to help people who are blind or who have low vision to distinguish between different denominations of banknotes. On the $20 banknote, this is three raised bumps on each of the long edges of the banknote.

It is expected that the $100 banknote will be released next year.

Image Courtesy: Coin Week