The Australian one-hundred-dollar note was first issued in 1984 as a paper note.
There have been two different issues of this denomination: initially a very light turquoise-blue paper note, and from May 1996, a green
polymer note.
Since the start of issue there have been six signature combinations. Two other combinations were not issued.
Design
The paper issue has a portrait of
Antarctic explorer Sir
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader duri ...
, with a background of a mountain range with a geological
strata format. A large diamond shape appears to the left of the main picture. Astronomer
John Tebbutt
John Tebbutt (25 May 1834 – 29 November 1916) was an Australian astronomer, famous for discovering the " Great Comet of 1861".
Early life
Tebbutt was born at Windsor, New South Wales, the only son of John Tebbutt, then a prosperous store keepe ...
is on the reverse, with a background of the
observatory he built and a local church.
The polymer issue was designed by Bruce Stewart, and features portraits of soprano Dame
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th centur ...
and engineer and First World War general Sir
John Monash
General (Australia), General Sir John Monash, (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade before the war an ...
.
[
A new design of the banknote, part of the Reserve Bank's Next Generation Banknote Program, was released into circulation on 29 October 2020.
]
Security features
The paper design includes a watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...
of Captain James Cook in the white field, and a metallic strip embedded in the paper to the left (on the obverse side) of the note. The same watermark was used in the last issue of the pre-decimal banknotes.
The polymer issue includes a shadow image of the Australian Coat of Arms, which is printed over. In the clear window, there is embossing—or a raised image—of the number 100 and a print of a lyrebird
A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...
. Also for this issue, fluorescent
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, ...
colouring was added to the serial numbers, as well as a patch that shows the banknote's value under ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...
light. The star's four points on the obverse and three on the reverse join to form the seven-pointed Federation Star when the note is held up to the light. Raised print and micro-printing of the denomination value are also included.
Circulation
According to Reserve Bank of Australia statistics, the number of $100 banknotes in circulation in June 2005 was 149 million—18.5% of all notes in circulation. The cash value for these notes was $14,924 million—41.9% of the total value for all denominations. Only the $50 note had more cash value in circulation. In June 2008 there were 176.9 million notes in circulation (19%), with a value of $17,690 million (42.1%).
In June 2017, 337 million $100 notes were in circulation,loophole
A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.
Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow ver ...
s used by the black economy
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...
.Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank.
Th ...
officially stated that there are no plans to abolish the $100 note.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian one-hundred dollar banknote
Banknotes of Australia
Currencies introduced in 1984
One-hundred-base-unit banknotes
Cultural depictions of Nellie Melba