Australian Next Generation $50 note
Following on from the New Note Series $50 note that was released in 1995, the Reserve Bank of Australia released the Next Generation $50 note on October 18th, 2018 (Reserve Bank of Australia, https://www.rba.gov.au/media-releases/2018/mr-18-25.html) and new notes were available from commercial banks on the day of launch.
In May 2019, it was noticed that there was a spelling mistake in Edith Cowan's speech - the word 'responsibility' was misspelled as 'responsibilty'. The Reserve Bank of Australia acknowledged the mistake and committed to rectifying it in subsequent print runs, and 2020-dated notes do not have the mistake.
Curiously, a majority of the 2020-dated notes are signed by Phil Gaetjens, even though he had ceased to be Secretary to the Treasury in 2019.
In 2021 there was a gap in printing between 2184611 and 2200000: the reason for the gap is not know.
As with the previous New Note Series $50 notes, the Next Generation $50 notes depict David Unaipon on the obverse and Edith Cowan on the reverse. The serial number prefixes are as per the New Note Series, with the second prefix letter running from A to M and the digits being the last two digits of the year the note was printed. Sheets run from AA to EA and EB to IB. The signatures are of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Secretary to the Treasury.
| First and Last Prefixes | Serial numbers | Number printed | Signatories |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA 18 - EA 18 | 0000001 - 6494801 | 344,224,453 | Lowe/Fraser |
| EB 18 - IB 18 | 0000001 - 6050277 | 320,664,681 | Lowe/Fraser |
| AA 20 - EA 20 | 0000001 - 5361359 | 241,261,155 | Lowe/Gaetjens |
| AA 20 - EA 20 | 5361359 - 6820290 | 65,651,895 | Lowe/Kennedy |
| AA 21 - EA 21 | 0000001 - 2184611 | 115,784,383 | Lowe/Kennedy |
| AA 21 - EA 21 | 2200000 - 5292426 | 40,201,538 | Lowe/Kennedy |
Prefixes and serial numbers are provided by the Reserve Bank of Australia.