WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 Imagine finding out that the person who designed 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.740 your bank's high security vault was actually 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:09.859 a convicted bank robber. Which is just, I mean, 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:13.560 a wild thought. Right, and now imagine the bank 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.320 being so incredibly proud of this guy that they 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:18.260 decide to honor him by putting his face right 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:20.480 there on the money itself. Yeah, it sounds completely 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:24.410 absurd, like a joke. It really does. But the 00:00:24.410 --> 00:00:27.370 crazy thing is, in 1966, Australia did exactly 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:29.890 that. They absolutely did. And honestly, it speaks 00:00:29.890 --> 00:00:33.030 volumes about how a nation chooses to view its 00:00:33.030 --> 00:00:35.590 own history. Because we treat physical money 00:00:35.590 --> 00:00:39.049 as this pure utility, just a quick vehicle to 00:00:39.049 --> 00:00:40.990 buy a coffee or whatever. We almost never actually 00:00:40.990 --> 00:00:42.969 look at it. Exactly. We just hand it over. Which 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:45.649 brings us to our mission for today's Deep Dives. 00:00:46.170 --> 00:00:48.609 We're looking at a massive encyclopedic breakdown, 00:00:48.929 --> 00:00:52.270 specifically a Wikipedia article. of a seemingly 00:00:52.270 --> 00:00:55.270 mundane, everyday object, the Australian $10 00:00:55.270 --> 00:00:57.750 note. Yes. And by the time we are done here, 00:00:57.950 --> 00:00:59.469 you, the listener, are going to realize that 00:00:59.469 --> 00:01:01.950 the crumpled piece of cash in your pocket isn't 00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:05.930 just a medium of exchange. It is a highly dense, 00:01:06.390 --> 00:01:08.980 miniature museum exhibit. Oh, without a doubt. 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:11.640 It's documenting a nation's history, its technological 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:15.439 breakthroughs, and some surprisingly heavy cultural 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.200 and legal controversies. It really is a masterclass 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:21.239 in design and engineering. And, well, human psychology, 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:23.959 too, because money is essentially a fiction. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:26.000 Right, it only works if we believe it. Exactly. 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:29.079 Fiat currency only has value because we all collectively 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:31.920 agree to trust it. So the physical object itself 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:35.079 has to constantly reinforce that trust. And to 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:37.260 see how they built that trust, we really have 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:40.640 to rewind to a massive shift in Australian history. 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:45.159 February 14th, 1966. A huge day. Yeah, this was 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:47.659 the day Australia transitioned its entire currency 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:50.540 system from the old British -style pound to the 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:53.739 new decimal dollar. And the new $10 note was 00:01:53.739 --> 00:01:56.079 brought in to replace the old five -pound note. 00:01:56.099 --> 00:01:58.239 Right. But the designers did something incredibly 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:00.180 clever to stop people from just... you know, 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:03.400 panicking. They kept the exact same blue coloration 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:05.640 from the old five pound note for the new $10 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:09.219 note. Which is a deeply vital psychological anchor. 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:11.340 I mean, you have to imagine the sheer anxiety 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:14.000 of a whole country waking up to find that the 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.060 basic math of their daily survival has completely 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:19.180 changed. Yeah, it must have been terrifying for 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:22.159 some people. Oh, absolutely. An economy is incredibly 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:24.879 fragile on a day like that. So by keeping that 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:27.599 familiar blue hue, the central bank was essentially, 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:30.120 well, Holding the public's hand like a comfort 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:33.439 blanket. Yeah, exactly It's subconsciously signaled 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.719 to a nervous shopkeeper or a skeptical buyer, 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:38.280 you know Yes, the numbers are different, but 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.439 this still holds the same value. This is still 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.199 your money it drastically lowered the cognitive 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:45.439 load of the whole transition. OK, let's unpack 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:48.259 this because the first batch of these paper notes 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:50.539 and the characters they chose to represent this 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:53.960 brand new Australian decimal identity are just 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.219 wild. They really are. So initially, the main 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:58.520 title identifying the country was printed as 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.039 Commonwealth of Australia. And that was from 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.500 1966 until 1974, before they decided to shorten 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.650 it to just Australia. Right, and they printed 00:03:06.650 --> 00:03:09.990 a staggering amount of them. Over 1 .2 billion 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:12.689 of those Australian notes were printed up until 00:03:12.689 --> 00:03:17.639 1993. Wow, 1 .2 billion. Yeah, and... When you 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:21.219 have a print run that massive early anomalies 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:23.979 become incredibly rare and valuable to collectors, 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:27.680 like the source notes that the 1967 issue featuring 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.060 the specific signatures of Coombs and Wilson 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:32.580 is highly sought after. Just because of the signatures. 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:34.539 Mostly because it was only issued for one single 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:36.879 year. So it's super rare now. That makes sense. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.300 But I want to get back to the faces on these 00:03:39.300 --> 00:03:40.979 original paper notes, though, because this is 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:43.340 where it gets crazy to me. So on the reverse 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:45.719 side, you have the famous poet Henry Lawson. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.930 Right. and he's surrounded by scenes of a 19th 00:03:48.930 --> 00:03:52.530 century outback gold mining town called Gulgong. 00:03:52.909 --> 00:03:54.650 It's got the Times Bakery, it's very rustic, 00:03:54.669 --> 00:03:57.389 very grounded. Very classic Australiana. Exactly. 00:03:57.490 --> 00:03:59.669 But on the front, the obverse side, you have 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:02.270 the architect Francis Greenway alongside some 00:04:02.270 --> 00:04:04.030 of the public buildings he helped construct. 00:04:04.430 --> 00:04:07.550 And here is the kicker. Francis Greenway was 00:04:07.550 --> 00:04:10.750 a previously convicted forger. I just, I cannot 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:13.370 get over this. They put a convicted forger on 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:16.410 their legal tender. That is a hilarious irony. 00:04:16.629 --> 00:04:19.629 It's literally like hiring a known bank robber 00:04:19.629 --> 00:04:21.689 to design your vault and then immortalizing him 00:04:21.689 --> 00:04:24.519 on the cash itself. Why would they do that? What's 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.220 fascinating here is that it's an absolutely brilliant, 00:04:27.660 --> 00:04:30.439 confident move for a newly decimalized nation. 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:33.180 You think so? Oh, definitely. In a lot of cultures, 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:35.819 a criminal past is seen as a permanent stain. 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:38.920 It's something to be buried, you know, scrubbed 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:40.420 from the official record. Right, you wouldn't 00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:43.819 brag about it? Exactly. But highlighting Greenway, 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:46.339 a man who was literally transported to Australia 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:49.240 as a convict for forgery and then rose to become 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:52.319 this foundational architect, it reflects a very 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:55.399 unique cultural mind. Oh, I see. It is an embrace 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:57.779 of the convict past rather than a denial of it. 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:00.279 It's an acknowledgement that the nation was built 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.459 by people seeking or, well, being forced into, 00:05:03.860 --> 00:05:05.800 a second chance. That makes so much sense. It's 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:07.740 almost a badge of honor, in a way. It really 00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:09.939 is. But relying on national pride and a familiar 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:11.959 blue color isn't going to be enough to secure 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:14.000 an economy. they had to actually protect the 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:16.399 paper. Right. Right, the anti -counterfeiting 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:19.060 measures. Yeah, so the design included a watermark 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:21.560 of Captain James Cook in the whitefield. And 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:24.079 that was the exact same watermark used in the 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:26.920 last issue of the old pound banknotes. Exactly. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:28.680 And again, that goes right back to continuity. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.819 So a watermark is created during the actual papermaking 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:35.269 process. Oh, really? Not printed on later? Nope. 00:05:35.410 --> 00:05:38.029 It's by varying the thickness of the paper while 00:05:38.029 --> 00:05:40.449 it's still wet. So when you hold it up to the 00:05:40.449 --> 00:05:42.750 light, the thinner parts let more light through, 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:45.629 and that creates an image. That's super clever. 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:48.230 Yeah. And if someone was nervous about accepting 00:05:48.230 --> 00:05:51.350 this new, unfamiliar dollar, holding it up to 00:05:51.350 --> 00:05:53.990 the light and seeing the familiar embedded face 00:05:53.990 --> 00:05:57.579 of Captain Cooket, provided immediate physical 00:05:57.579 --> 00:06:00.000 proof of legitimacy. Like, okay, this is real 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.060 money. Exactly. And they also introduced a metallic 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:05.560 security strip woven directly into the paper. 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:07.680 Initially it was placed near the center of the 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:11.339 note, and then in 1976 they moved it over to 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:13.800 the left side. Right. But as much character as 00:06:13.800 --> 00:06:16.519 those poetry notes had, and as clever as a moving 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.899 metallic strip was, they had one massive inherent 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:22.500 vulnerability. They were paper. They were made 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:24.540 of paper. They tear, they absorb water, they 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:26.680 wear out in your pocket. Oh, yeah. And worse, 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.079 as we get into the 1980s, paper became incredibly 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.540 vulnerable to a new technological enemy, the 00:06:33.540 --> 00:06:36.560 color photocopier. Yes, that was a game changer 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.199 for counterfeiters. Which brings us to 1988, 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.639 where Australia completely reinvents the physical 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:44.670 nature of money. This is a monumental leap. I 00:06:44.670 --> 00:06:46.730 mean, not just for Australia, but for the history 00:06:46.730 --> 00:06:49.629 of global currency. It was this desperate arms 00:06:49.629 --> 00:06:52.110 race against counterfeiters. So to celebrate 00:06:52.110 --> 00:06:54.329 the bicentennial of Australian settlement in 00:06:54.329 --> 00:06:58.709 1988, the country printed 17 .5 million commemorative 00:06:58.709 --> 00:07:01.430 $10 notes. Right. And this wasn't just, you know, 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:03.670 a new picture on the same old paper. This was 00:07:03.670 --> 00:07:06.089 the first polymer meaning plastic banknote of 00:07:06.089 --> 00:07:08.029 its kind anywhere in the world. A total world 00:07:08.029 --> 00:07:10.759 first. On the front, it featured the HMS supply 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:13.680 anchored at Sydney Cove, early colony backgrounds, 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:16.480 and figures symbolizing everyone who contributed 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.360 to Australia, from early settlers to the modern 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:21.959 working man. And it also featured a brand new 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:24.680 security feature called an Optically Variable 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:29.319 Device, or OVD. And this showed Captain James 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.480 Cook, who, the text notes, was the man who first 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.100 mapped Botany Bay. Right. Another nod to history. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:37.339 But I have to push back a bit here, because I 00:07:37.339 --> 00:07:39.639 have to admit, my first instinct when reading 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:42.199 this was that it was just a massive marketing 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:45.480 stunt. Really? Yeah. Like, why roll out a brand 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.180 new one -first plastic technology just for a 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:51.160 commemorative note? Was this just a flashy bicentennial 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:54.300 gimmick to show off? Releasing a totally untested 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:56.540 currency substrate just seems insanely risky 00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:58.879 for a national economy. Well, it's a very logical 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:00.839 suspicion, but it was absolutely not a stunt. 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:03.319 Developing a polymer substrate for currency was 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:06.069 a grueling, highly expensive. of research project. 00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:08.170 The Reserve Bank had actually been working on 00:08:08.170 --> 00:08:10.569 this for years to combat those high -resolution 00:08:10.569 --> 00:08:13.209 color copiers we just talked about. So by introducing 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:15.470 it as a commemorative issue, they essentially 00:08:15.470 --> 00:08:18.329 tricked the public into participating in a massive 00:08:18.329 --> 00:08:22.610 real -world beta test. A beta test with 17 .5 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:25.689 million notes. Precisely. They needed to test 00:08:25.689 --> 00:08:28.670 the waters. Like, how does plastic hold up in 00:08:28.670 --> 00:08:31.009 a humid climate? Does the ink rub off when it's 00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:33.840 just crumpled up in a wallet? Oh, sure. And how 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.120 do mechanical ATMs handle the friction of a polymer 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.740 bill? If the experiment failed, they could just 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:42.500 write it off as a limited run commemorative item. 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:44.759 Right. It was just for the bicentennial. Exactly. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:47.659 But if it succeeded, it would prove that this 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:50.419 groundbreaking technology was the future of economic 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:53.159 security. That is so smart. Now, you mentioned 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:57.179 the OVD of Captain Cook. What exactly is an optically 00:08:57.179 --> 00:08:59.899 variable device and why is it better than the 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:03.009 old? paper security. So think of it like a highly 00:09:03.009 --> 00:09:05.769 advanced hologram. It's a structure stamped into 00:09:05.769 --> 00:09:08.269 a foil at a microscopic level that physically 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:10.929 diffracts light. As you tilt the banknote, the 00:09:10.929 --> 00:09:13.230 image of Captain Cook actually appears to move 00:09:13.230 --> 00:09:16.169 or change colors. In a color photocopier, it 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:18.350 just takes a static two -dimensional snapshot. 00:09:19.129 --> 00:09:21.549 So it can't capture the movement? It fundamentally 00:09:21.549 --> 00:09:23.950 cannot replicate a physical structure that requires 00:09:23.950 --> 00:09:26.870 actual movement and light to function. That, 00:09:27.049 --> 00:09:29.490 combined with the polymer itself, completely 00:09:29.490 --> 00:09:32.639 neutralized the color copier threat. Wow. So 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.740 the technology was a spectacular success. But 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:37.559 while the material of the note was celebrating 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:40.059 modern tech and the front of the note was celebrating 00:09:40.059 --> 00:09:44.159 colonial history, the back of the 1988 note triggered 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.899 a profoundly complex legal and cultural clash. 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:50.580 Yes, it really did. One that went all the way 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:52.480 to the federal court. Yeah, the technological 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:56.620 triumph was for a time deeply overshadowed by 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:59.440 a landmark conversation about intellectual property 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.409 and cultural rights. So the reverse side. of 00:10:02.409 --> 00:10:05.529 that 1988 commemorative note was designed to 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:08.610 reflect aboriginal culture. It featured an aboriginal 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:11.370 youth in ceremonial paint named Wayne Williams 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:14.169 alongside a Dreamtime figure. Right. And it also 00:10:14.169 --> 00:10:16.470 featured a very specific piece of artwork, a 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:18.370 morning star pole created by an artist named 00:10:18.370 --> 00:10:21.279 Terry Yambalool. But after the note was released 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:24.139 into circulation, Yumble actually sued the Reserve 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:26.299 Bank for breach of copyright. Yes. He claimed 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:28.879 that an agent had misled and deceived him into 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:30.639 permitting the reproduction of his poll. And 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:32.440 to understand the true weight of this lawsuit, 00:10:32.740 --> 00:10:34.879 you really have to look beyond standard copyright 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:37.419 law and understand the cultural context. According 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:41.019 to the sources, a Morningstar poll is profoundly 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:44.750 culturally significant to the Gaupu clan. Terry 00:10:44.750 --> 00:10:47.149 Umbul had the right to physically make the poll, 00:10:47.269 --> 00:10:50.629 yes, but that right came with a very strict communal 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:52.950 obligation. Meaning he didn't just own it outright 00:10:52.950 --> 00:10:55.929 himself. Exactly. He was obligated to his clan 00:10:55.929 --> 00:10:59.110 to ensure that the poll was not used or reproduced 00:10:59.110 --> 00:11:01.450 in any way that offended their cultural perceptions 00:11:01.450 --> 00:11:04.409 of its significance. So what does this all mean? 00:11:05.090 --> 00:11:07.730 The case played out and the Reserve Bank ended 00:11:07.730 --> 00:11:11.059 up settling their part of the lawsuit. But the 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:13.139 claim against the agent who obtained the approval 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:15.820 went to trial. Right. And Justice Robert French 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:18.059 ruled that the copyright was validly assigned 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:20.639 and that the agent hadn't engaged in misleading 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.519 or deceptive conduct. Yes. But the judge also 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:25.460 explicitly acknowledged that Yimbel may not have 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:27.179 fully appreciated the implications of what he 00:11:27.179 --> 00:11:29.840 was doing in terms of his own cultural obligations. 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:32.080 I really struggle to wrap my head around this. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:34.600 Wait. So the court said the contract was legally 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.519 solid, but culturally it might have been a violation 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:40.259 of his obligation to the Galpout clan. How do 00:11:40.259 --> 00:11:43.100 you reconcile a legal signature with indigenous 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:45.980 communal ownership? This raises an important 00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:48.220 question, and you've hit on exactly why this 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:50.860 case is so historically important. It's a collision 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:53.899 between two entirely different paradigms of viewing 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:56.240 the world. OK, how so? Well, on one side, you 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.850 have Western intellectual property law. It's 00:11:58.850 --> 00:12:01.909 highly individualistic, right? It assumes that 00:12:01.909 --> 00:12:04.909 a solitary genius artist creates a work, owns 00:12:04.909 --> 00:12:07.029 the copyright, signs a piece of paper, and sells 00:12:07.029 --> 00:12:08.929 the rights. Right. You sign the contract, you 00:12:08.929 --> 00:12:11.929 get the check, it's done. A simple binary transaction. 00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:15.389 Exactly. But indigenous cultural rights operate 00:12:15.389 --> 00:12:18.710 on a deeply communal level. The art isn't just 00:12:18.710 --> 00:12:21.289 an aesthetically pleasing image. It can be a 00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:24.669 sacred text, a record of lineage, and a profound 00:12:24.669 --> 00:12:27.309 responsibility shared by an entire clan over 00:12:27.309 --> 00:12:30.360 generations. Wow. The artist is more of a steward 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.379 than a sole proprietor. So signing away the reproduction 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:36.539 rights on a standard, Western legal contract 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:39.399 fundamentally fails to account for the spiritual 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:41.700 or communal permissions required by the clan. 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:44.919 Precisely. And the judge's ruling really reflects 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:47.740 the strict limitations of the Western legal framework. 00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:50.419 The contract was legally sound by the letter 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:53.039 of the law, but it completely failed to capture 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.220 the cultural reality of what was being traded. 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.169 That's a massive blind spot. It is. But what 00:12:58.169 --> 00:13:00.250 is truly noteworthy here is that the Reserve 00:13:00.250 --> 00:13:02.750 Bank chose to settle the case rather than fight 00:13:02.750 --> 00:13:04.970 it to the bitter end. Oh, interesting. Yeah, 00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:07.789 that settlement was an institutional recognition 00:13:07.789 --> 00:13:10.690 of the gravity of the situation. It's a powerful 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:13.649 lesson that basic legal compliance doesn't automatically 00:13:13.649 --> 00:13:16.629 equate to cultural respect. It really forced 00:13:16.629 --> 00:13:18.909 institutions to realize that when dealing with 00:13:18.909 --> 00:13:21.450 indigenous art, a standard copyright clearance 00:13:21.450 --> 00:13:24.450 simply isn't enough. That is such a heavy, fascinating 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:26.990 layer hidden on the back of a plastic beta test 00:13:26.990 --> 00:13:30.240 note. It really is. And the Reserve Bank clearly 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.299 learned from the trials of 1988 both the technological 00:13:33.299 --> 00:13:35.940 successes of the polymer and the cultural lessons 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:38.620 of the design process because they took all of 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:41.740 that data and synthesized it to create the permanent 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:44.220 polymer $10 notes that we actually see today. 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:48.100 Yes. And from 1993 onward they transformed the 00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:51.610 note into a highly secure literary masterpiece. 00:13:51.809 --> 00:13:53.929 The shift from the commemorative note to the 00:13:53.929 --> 00:13:55.950 permanent circulation note is where you really 00:13:55.950 --> 00:13:58.429 see this technology mature from an experiment 00:13:58.429 --> 00:14:01.070 into a true art form. So the permanent polymer 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:02.929 note, which was designed by Max Robinson and 00:14:02.929 --> 00:14:05.590 issued from 1993 all the way to 2017, took a 00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:08.629 beautifully poetic turn. On the obverse, you 00:14:08.629 --> 00:14:12.029 have AB Banjo Patterson, who is one of Australia's 00:14:12.029 --> 00:14:14.750 most famous bush poets. Right. And alongside 00:14:14.750 --> 00:14:16.370 him is a horse in the Snowy Mountains region, 00:14:16.509 --> 00:14:19.500 a wattle plant, and his signature. Then on the 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:21.779 reverse you have Dame Mary Gilmore, another iconic 00:14:21.779 --> 00:14:24.159 Australian writer and journalist alongside a 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.759 bullet train and her signature. But the craziest 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:28.820 part is the background. The backgrounds of both 00:14:28.820 --> 00:14:31.940 sides actually feature tiny micro printed verses 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:34.480 from their respective poetry. It's an incredible 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.500 fusion of national identity and security. Here's 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:40.419 where it gets really interesting though. In 2017 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:42.799 they updated the design again. They kept the 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:45.679 poetic themes but added the bramble wattle and 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:47.559 the sulfur crested cockatoo. Yeah, beautiful 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:50.440 additions. And they added a massive top -to -bottom 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:52.340 transparent window. I was looking at the design 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:55.320 specs for this 2017 note and the security features 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:58.899 are just wild. You have embossing literally a 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:01.379 raised image inside that clear window. Right. 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:03.539 There's a shadow image of the coat of arms printed 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:05.879 over the note. The serial numbers are printed 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.990 with fluorescent ink. and they kept the microprinting 00:15:08.990 --> 00:15:11.190 of the entire poem, The Man from Snowy River, 00:15:11.769 --> 00:15:14.049 and the denomination value. That's a lot of feature. 00:15:14.169 --> 00:15:16.450 It's essentially a high -tech literary magazine 00:15:16.450 --> 00:15:19.370 hidden in your wallet. But I have to ask, isn't 00:15:19.370 --> 00:15:21.840 that overkill? Why go to the immense trouble 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:25.259 of microprinting whole poems? Who is actually 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:27.659 reading their money with a magnifying glass? 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.039 If we connect this to the bigger picture, the 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:32.259 overkill is exactly the point. When it comes 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:34.720 to currency, complexity is the security. Oh, 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:37.360 I see. Remember the color photocopier threat. 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.700 When a counterfeiter tries to scan or photocopy 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.460 a modern banknote, their digital scanners are 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:45.460 calibrated to look for standard resolutions. 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:49.759 Micro -printing is so infinitesimally small that 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.500 a standard optical scanner simply cannot resolve 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:55.799 the individual letters. So the scanner basically 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:59.080 just gives up and renders it as a solid lorry 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:01.580 line. Exactly. It completely breaks the digital 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:04.480 reproduction process. And you mentioned the embossing 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.799 on the transparent window. Yeah, the raised bump. 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.340 That is another physical hurdle. Polymer is essentially 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:13.500 a specialized plastic film. Embossing it means 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:15.980 applying extreme mechanical pressure to physically 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:19.000 deform that film, which creates a raised, tactile 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.139 texture. Right. So a visually impaired person 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:23.399 can feel it, an automated cash sorting machine 00:16:23.399 --> 00:16:25.700 can feel it, but a counterfeiter with a high 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:28.440 -end inkjet printer absolutely cannot print physical 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:30.580 depth. Okay, that makes perfect sense. But my 00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:32.360 absolute favorite feature has to be the stars. 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:36.100 Oh, the registration stars. Yes. There is a four 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:37.840 -point star printed on the front of the note. 00:16:38.029 --> 00:16:40.370 and a three -point star printed on the back. 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:42.970 And when you hold the bill up to the light, they 00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:46.330 magically join together to form a perfect seven 00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:48.789 -pointed star. How do they even do that on a 00:16:48.789 --> 00:16:50.809 mass scale? That is called perfect registration, 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:53.470 and it is a counterfeiter's absolute nightmare. 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:56.750 Really? Why? To achieve that, the printing plates 00:16:56.750 --> 00:16:58.590 on the front and the back of the printing press 00:16:58.590 --> 00:17:01.330 have to hit the fast -moving plastic substrate 00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:05.009 at the exact same millisecond in perfect microscopic 00:17:05.009 --> 00:17:08.210 alignment. Yeah, if a counterfeiter tries to 00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:10.329 fake it by running a sheet of plastic through 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:12.789 a printer once for the front and then flipping 00:17:12.789 --> 00:17:15.710 it over to print the back, the microscopic slip 00:17:15.710 --> 00:17:18.299 of the paper feed will ruin the alignment. If 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:20.440 they're off by even a fraction of a millimeter, 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:22.599 that star won't line perfectly when you hold 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:24.859 it up to the light. That is just brilliant. So 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:26.940 how many of these little plastic canvases are 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:29.200 actually out there in the wild right now? Well, 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:32.559 according to the June 2017 statistics in the 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.519 source material, there were 128 million $10 notes 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:39.420 in circulation. That represents a net value of 00:17:39.420 --> 00:17:43.359 $1 .28 billion. And it makes up about 8 % of 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:45.819 all bank notes in circulation. So they are absolutely 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:47.890 everywhere, passing from hand to hand. every 00:17:47.890 --> 00:17:50.490 single second and surviving the elements perfectly 00:17:50.490 --> 00:17:53.390 thanks to that polymer. Exactly. It really is 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:55.089 an incredible journey. I mean we started with 00:17:55.089 --> 00:17:58.430 a paper note in 1966 that literally featured 00:17:58.430 --> 00:18:01.670 a convicted forger, a confident nod to a complex 00:18:01.670 --> 00:18:04.950 colonial past. Yep. Then we witnessed a massive 00:18:04.950 --> 00:18:08.190 world -first pivot to polymer technology in 1988 00:18:08.190 --> 00:18:10.809 which brought with it a landmark dispute that 00:18:10.809 --> 00:18:13.250 forced a reckoning between Western copyright 00:18:13.250 --> 00:18:16.130 law and ancient indigenous cultural rights. A 00:18:16.130 --> 00:18:19.890 huge And finally, we arrived at today's modern 00:18:19.890 --> 00:18:23.869 $10 note, a micro -printed, fluorescent, perfectly 00:18:23.869 --> 00:18:26.650 aligned celebration of national poetry that is 00:18:26.650 --> 00:18:29.109 practically impossible to forge. It just goes 00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:31.569 to show that a nation's currency is never just 00:18:31.569 --> 00:18:33.869 about economics. It is a constantly evolving 00:18:33.869 --> 00:18:36.309 self -portrait. Every time they update the security, 00:18:36.509 --> 00:18:38.349 they're also updating how they tell their own 00:18:38.349 --> 00:18:41.289 story. So to you listening, the next time you 00:18:41.289 --> 00:18:43.430 pull a piece of cash out of your wallet or purse, 00:18:44.069 --> 00:18:46.759 take a second to actually look at it. because 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:49.539 those seemingly boring items we carry every day 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:52.720 are deeply layered with human stories, legal 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:54.680 battles, and cutting -edge engineering. They 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:57.059 really are miniature museums. Which leaves us 00:18:57.059 --> 00:19:00.440 with a final thought to ponder. If you were tasked 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.900 to design a banknote to represent your own community 00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:05.779 today, what controversial detail or cultural 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:08.059 watermark would you include that historians might 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:11.250 be arguing about 50 years from now? Thank you 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:13.650 for joining us on this deep dive. Next time you 00:19:13.650 --> 00:19:15.950 buy that coffee, remember you're holding a miniature 00:19:15.950 --> 00:19:17.349 museum in the palm of your hand.