The RBA has given a major update on the future of Australia’s $5 note, which traditionally bears the face of the reigning monarch.
Australia’s currency is set to undergo a massive rebrand following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
But one thing that won’t change – at least not immediately – is the $5 bank note that displays her face.
Since 1995, the $5 note bank note has been marked with a portrait of the Queen, aged 58.
The Reserve Bank has confirmed there will be “no immediate change” to the Australian banknotes.
“They will not be withdrawn and are likely to remain in circulation for years to come,” a spokesperson said.
The reigning monarch has traditionally appeared on the lowest denomination of Australian banknote and the RBA said it will provide further updates in due course.
The Queen has been the only monarch to feature on Australia’s decimal currency, which was introduced in 1966. .
However, from next year, the effigy of King Charles III will begin popping up on the back of newly-minted coins, but in an interesting change, he will now be facing the left.
It’s part of a tradition that dates back to the reign of Charles II in the 1600s, and states that each new monarch must alternate in the direction they gaze.
Treasury had been working with the Royal Australian Mint as well as the Perth Mint to plan for a change in the effigy on Australian coins, which will be supplied by the UK Royal Mint.
As this transition may take some time, coins bearing the late Queen’s face on it may continue to be minted.
Coins featuring the Queen will remain legal tender so for some time there will be a mix of both the new King and his mother in circulation.
Queen Elizabeth has appeared on money more than any other person in history, with her face adorning currency in 35 countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Prior to transition from pounds, shillings and pence, Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI appeared on the back of the nation’s coins and bank notes.
The future of the $5 note is known.
But after his death in 1952, a competition was launched to design the Queen’s effigy for coins and banknotes in the UK and other Commonwealth nations.
In the end, 71-year-old Mary Gillick was chosen for her “fresh” design of the young monarch.
