Australia's Secret (and Painfully Gaudy) Banknotes

After five years of secret work and $9.3 million (Aus), the Reserve Bank of Australia unveiled brand new designs for their bank notes.

The project, called “Next Generation Bank Note,” is more than two years behind schedule. From looking at the notes, you have to wonder what exactly they were perfecting with all that extra time.

Designers were apparently asked to capture Australian characteristics with "youthful" and "energetic design qualities.”

Perhaps that is a euphemistic way to say the colors weren't gaudy enough on the current bills.

The initiative followed research by the bank that found most Australians couldn't even name the faces on their national currency.

Although, with the poor state of education in the U.S., perhaps Americans would fare no better, even with the last names of famous presidents listed under their portraits on our bills.

A bank spokesman has confirmed the project, saying it was taking place to ensure Australia maintained its "relatively low levels of counterfeiting".

With how bright the colors are, it would probably cost too much in printer ink to make any counterfeit bills worthwhile.

Perhaps counterfeiters should stick to these tools to keep their illicit business going. It seems like a low cost way to cover the entire color palette the Aussies used...

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