Polymer series
The first polymer banknote, the 1988 Australian $10 note
In 1988, the Reserve Bank of Australia issued
plastic, specifically
polypropylene polymer banknotes (which were produced by
Note Printing Australia), to commemorate the bicentenary of European settlement in Australia. These notes contained a transparent window with an optically variable image of
Captain James Cook as a security feature. Australian banknotes were the first in the world to use such features.
Today all Australian notes are made of polymer.