An extremely rare Australian specimen note sold for nearly $9,000 at a May 20 auction by Archives International Auctions in Fort Lee, N.J.

The Commonwealth of Australia 1974 $50 specimen note sold for $8,850. The note had an estimate of $8,000 to $16,000. It was graded by Paper Money Grading as Choice About Uncirculated 58 Net with a notation of being “previously mounted,” according to the catalog.

Of the more than 630 lots offered, 433 sold for an overall sell-through rate of 68.5 percent in the auction that grossed $219,188.

Tasmanian Devil Collection

The note was part of the first installment of “The Tasmanian Devil Collection,” a total of 31 lots which included rare Australian replacement and specimen notes.

The lots represented one of the largest offerings of rare, modern Australian notes offered in the United States in decades, said Robert Schwartz, AIA president.

A 1932 Commonwealth of Australia £5 note, graded by Paper Money Guaranty as Very Fine 30 Net “with a note of PVC,” according to the catalog, sold for $3,422. The note had an estimate of $3,500 to $5,000.

A 1984 Commonwealth of Australia $20 note bearing serial number 1, graded by PMG as Gem Uncirculated 65 Exceptional Paper Quality, sold for $2,422. The note had an estimate of $5,000 to $10,000.

Other world note highlights

A 1973 to 1976 specimen set of five banknotes from the United Arab Emirates sold for $16,520 during the auction against a pre-sale estimate of $7,500 to $12,500.

The notes ­— in 1-, 5-, 10-, 50- and 100-dirham denominations — were graded Choice About Uncirculated to Gem Uncirculated by the auction firm.

Other lots included selections from the “Scarsdale Collection” of modern African bank notes as well as additional selections from the Hamtramck Collection, assembled by a career military officer over a 50-year period from the 1940s to the 1990s.

A selection of rare U.S. and worldwide bank notes, scripophily and security printing ephemera was also offered.

For more information about the auction, visit the firm’s website.

Information about the May 20 auction and consignments for an upcoming Hong Kong auction can also be obtained by writing to the firm at AIA, 1580 Lemoine Ave, Suite 7, Fort Lee, NJ 07024-5600, or by telephone at 201-944-4800, or sending an email.