How it began
Australia converted to decimal currency in 1966 with new paper notes carrying a watermark, metal threads and raised intaglio print. In less than a year quality forgeries of the 10 dollar note appeared. The Reserve Bank governor, H. C. Coombs, turned to science, and in 1968 a group of scientists from CSIRO and the universities met at Thredbo, New South Wales, to discuss the problem. CSIRO's answer, developed by a team led by David Solomon, was to print on plastic with a see-through panel and a hologram embedded in the note.
Before it existed
Banknotes were printed on quality paper and protected by watermarks, metal threads and raised print. A representative of Kodak Australia made a key point at the 1968 meeting: if the new banknotes could be photographed, they could also be printed and forged. Paper security features alone were no longer keeping ahead of forgers.
How it works
The note is made of plastic film instead of paper. It carries a transparent panel and an optically variable device, features that cannot be reproduced by photographing and printing the note. CSIRO records that the plastic notes were also more durable than paper and less likely to carry dirt, and that their longer life more than offset a slightly higher cost.
How it spread
The commemorative 10 dollar note issued in January 1988 for the Bicentennial was the first plastic film banknote with an optically variable device. By 1998 all Australian banknotes were issued in plastic, making Australia the first country to convert fully from paper to polymer currency, with savings then estimated at more than 20 million dollars a year. In 1996 the Reserve Bank and Innovia Films formed Securency International to market the technology.
Who pushed back
CSIRO states that the technical problems were solved in principle within about 10 years, but that the conservative nature of banking delayed the release. Solomon recalled a period of despair when the Reserve Bank took over the project with staff not trained in development. A later governor, R. A. Johnston, recruited engineers and scientists and decided on a limited release.
