Australian Money

DOHC_Holiday

DOHC_Holiday

I was here on day 1
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Jul 10, 2008
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Embry-Riddle, FL
I recently read that Australian money is plastic, not cloth/paper like ours here in the USA. What's the deal with that? Is it rigid like a credit card, or flexible or what? Is it still the same size as normal paper money?

I just keep imagining the "credit chips" they use for currency in the Star Wars movies.
 
It's like cellophane but not crinkly.
It was introduced to stop counterfeiting (fail) and to last a long time (fail again).
they don't fold as well as paper and old notes become brittle and split

currency_australia_400.jpg
 
DOHC_Holiday said:
I just keep imagining the "credit chips" they use for currency in the Star Wars movies.
Click to expand...

That would be cool but no. Just like regular notes but thin plastic. The one big upside IMO is they're waterproof.

From Wikipedia:
In 1988, the Reserve Bank of Australia issued plastic, specifically polypropylene polymer banknotes (produced by Note Printing Australia), to commemorate the bicentenary of European settlement in Australia. All Australian notes are now made of polymer.
Notes are sized according to their denomination, for the visually impaired. They are the same height but of different lengths, in order of their value - $5 being the smallest, $100 the largest. Notes are also colour coded: $5 pink (there are two designs); $10 blue; $20 red; $50 yellow; and $100 green.
As a security feature, these notes contained a transparent window with an optically variable image of Captain James Cook. Every note also has a seven-pointed star which has only half the printing on each side as well as an image of the Australian Coat of Arms only visible when held up to the light. Australian banknotes were the first in the world to use such features.
 
DOHC_Holiday said:
I recently read that Australian money is plastic, not cloth/paper like ours here in the USA. What's the deal with that? Is it rigid like a credit card, or flexible or what? Is it still the same size as normal paper money?
Click to expand...

You just gotta see and handle one to fully appreciate them... PM me and we'll arrange an exchange - you send me a genuine US $100 note and i'll send you one of ours.

onebob :-)
 
onebob said:
You just gotta see and handle one to fully appreciate them... PM me and we'll arrange an exchange - you send me a genuine US $100 note and i'll send you one of ours.

onebob :-)
Click to expand...

sounds like a great idea. How many would he like?
Let us all know how you get on.

IanC
 
lefty said:
It's like cellophane but not crinkly.
It was introduced to stop counterfeiting (fail) and to last a long time (fail again).
they don't fold as well as paper and old notes become brittle and split

currency_australia_400.jpg
Click to expand...

I disagree with all your comments with the exception of the original (from memory) $5 note, plastic notes have been superior to paper. They definitely last longer than paper. Paper used to tear real easily after being folded and would actually wear out, particularly along the fold. Counterfeit plastic notes are a lot easier to detect than paper - I remember there have been a lot more cases of counterfeit paper notes than plastic.

On a more useful note (pardon the pun), IMO US paper denominations all look the same and are very difficult to differentiate. Out of all the international currencies I've used, I find Australian plastic/paper currency about the easiest to used, given the differences in size and colour.

For the OP: plastic notes started to be implemented in the late 80s from memory - it was phased in with the $5 note first, then progressively over a number of years the remaining currency was replaced. I seem to recall issues with the $5 note - it used to wear out or something, so it was replaced. We also abolished the 1c and 2c coins (I think in the 90s?) and replaced the $1 and $2 notes with coins around 1983/4/5. That is, unlike the US, where you have a $1 coin as well as a $1 note, we don't have a $1 note anymore.
 
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^ I agree with Hoadie in regards to the Oz plastic currency. Its a bloody fantastic piece of currency "technology". I too love the waterproof factor.

The other thing I wanted to mention - our notes are different sizes, the more value of the note the larger it is, so along with colour differences we also have size difference with the $5 note being the smallest note and the $100 being our largest (well, that I know of anyway).

Cheers

Bennie
 
"...and replaced the $1 and $2 notes with coins..."

The only thing that we did wrong was making the $1 coin bigger than the $2 coin. At least our Kiwi friends got that bit right. Makes for an interesting few purchases in NZ.

Beigewagon.
 
First time I went to NZ, the parking meter would only accept Aussie coins, Not NZ ones!
 
Oh, and the paper currency smelt better. I still have at least one of all the old paper currency denominations- I just need to remember where I put them!
 
hoadie said:
That is, unlike the US, where you have a $1 coin as well as a $1 note, we don't have a $1 note anymore.
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I dunno that we have a $1 coin here in the States. There used to be one, but I haven't seen one in a long time.

Also, you guys mention that water proof money is a good thing. What was it made of before that wasn't waterproof? Our money can go thru the wash no problem; it's cotton based, I think.
 
I heard money laundering was a problem in the US. Just did not realise it was so widespread. The old currency was made of paper, but a better quality than what you use to wrap the fish and chips!
 
Rally said:
I heard money laundering was a problem in the US. Just did not realise it was so widespread. The old currency was made of paper, but a better quality than what you use to wrap the fish and chips!
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No, no, you misunderstand. I wash money because I am too busy cleaning my guns after a trip to Wal-Mart to buy pictures of Paris Hilton naked to check the pockets of my pants before I throw them in the washer. It's a common problem here in the US.
 
DOHC_Holiday said:
I dunno that we have a $1 coin here in the States. There used to be one, but I haven't seen one in a long time.

Also, you guys mention that water proof money is a good thing. What was it made of before that wasn't waterproof? Our money can go thru the wash no problem; it's cotton based, I think.
Click to expand...

You had $1 coins when I was there in 2002. I bought some stamps from a vending machine at the post office cos I couldn't be bothered queuing, and it gave me a heap of $1 coins in change. When I tried to use them in the shops I actually got strange looks, so obviously not frequently used.
 
hoadie said:
You had $1 coins when I was there in 2002. I bought some stamps from a vending machine at the post office cos I couldn't be bothered queuing, and it gave me a heap of $1 coins in change. When I tried to use them in the shops I actually got strange looks, so obviously not frequently used.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about those gold-colored ones with Sacajawea on them? Those came and went real quick. You never see them anymore because even with the gold coloring, they're too close to the size of a quarter and people didn't like them.
 
Fascinating, given all your notes are the same size and colour.
 
I'm getting conflicting information about those US $1 coins!

As for your notes, to the casual observer they do all appear to be the same shape, size, colour, etc.
 
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