AUSTRALIAN CURRENCY

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 25 February 1913, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN CURRENCY

The Federal Prime Minist)-; (Mr Bisher) has authorised an important reform in Australian currency, viz., that copper coins shall be superseded by nickel coins. So the cid copper pennies and half-pennies ore to go, and wo are to have the nickel, as in America and India. In tho United states one sometimes hears an American call a "nickel'"'a penny, though its value there is equivalent to about 2}d in English money. In sine the now penny in Australia wlI be slight'v larger than a sixpence, and the half-penny rather larger tlun the threepenny-bit. The nickel coinage of America and India lias about 75 per cent of copper in it, and it is prcpnsi ed to adopt this standard for Australia. It will 'be more expensive to oroduce than the old copper coins, but a profit will still remain to the Treasury. Another important currency change is to com® into operation next month'—the issue of the new 10s note. A great popularity is expected for these notes. The Government note printer has imported a jffoe printing-machine, and by April will be oii'nting 14,000 Australian notes a day. About 5,600,'000 paper notes, representing nearly £10,000,000, are to be printed in addition to the new 10s issue. The new issue, composed of designs declared l>y London experts to be the finest banknote designs in the world, \yill take the place of the old, which will be gradually called in through the banks.