1934 Ten Pound Riddle/Sheehan R57 PMG VF25

1934 Ten Pound Riddle/Sheehan R57 PMG VF25

Front: Facing portrait of King George V

Back: Agriculture scene

Period on Issue:ÊOctober 8th 1934 ~ÊJune 1940

Mintage: 3,076,000

This is a presentable example of a high-value Depression-era note.

The Great Depression of 1929 brought about the end of the gold standard in Australia - all notes became "Legal Tender", meaning they couldn't be redeemed in gold coin at the Commonwealth Bank (the equivalent of the Reserve Bank back then).

The Legal Tender ten pound notes featuring the signatures of Riddle and Sheehan were released into circulation on October 8th 1934, and were superseded by the King George VI notes signed by Sheehan and McFarlane from June 1940.

Nominal wage statistics from the ABS shows that £10 was equivalent to around two and a half week's wages in 1934 - equivalent to around $3,920 in today's money.

We can only imagine just how far that sum of money would have gone during the darkest days of Australia's most challenging economic period, so it's incredible to see something so valuable in original condition some 85 years after it was issued into circulation.