THE Reserve Bank has unveiled the design of Australia’s new $5 banknote, and the reaction has been mixed.
From “it looks like vomit” to “what even is that”, cash carriers of Australia are weighing in with their comments on the colourful new design.
The new note, which will be issued into circulation from September, will keep the same basic colour, size, and people portrayed as the old fiver, but the design is a bit different.
When the series is complete, each New Australian banknote will depict a different species of Australian wattle and a native bird, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens announced today.
“On the $5 banknote, these are the prickly Moses wattle and Eastern Spinebill,” he said in a statement.
Those are the yellow caterpillar looking things and the little bird, drawn in the middle of the note next to the slightly aged and more surly-looking queen.
The design took in research involving focus groups, and a “culmination of a process of extensive consultation with subject-matter experts and the cash-handling industry”, the RBA said.
But despite the research, not everyone is happy with the design. One user has gone so far as to threaten never to use the denomination again.
The new notes will also feature a new “tactile” feature to help the vision-impaired community distinguish between denominations.
And yes, people have managed to make fun of that as well.
The $5 banknote was first issued in Australia in 1967, the year after the currency was changed from the pound to the dollar.
The original design, printed on a paper note, featured botanist Sir Joseph Banks and humanitarian Caroline Chisholm.
The polymer note was first introduced in 1992, followed in 1995 by another design printed in a deeper shade of mauve to help confused users distinguish it from the similarly coloured $10 banknote.
The current design features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which was commissioned by the RBA in 1984. On the reverse side are pictures of old and new Parliament Houses.
A limited edition commemorative fiver was also introduced in 2001 for that year only, features Sir Henry Parkes on one side and Catherine Helen Spence on the other.
Issuance of the new $5 banknote will commence on September 1, although it will take some time for the new banknotes to be widely circulated, the RBA has warned.
The current series of banknotes can continue to be used even after the new banknotes are issued.
New Zealand was also treated to a preview of its new banknotes yesterday.
Their new cash will also be more brightly coloured and feature native wildlife, but have faced significantly less ridicule.
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