The commemorative 50-cent coin released by the Australian Signals Directorate (Image: Royal Australian Mint)
Commemorative 50-cent coin released by the Australian Signals Directorate (Image: Royal Australian Mint)

Australian Signals Directorate has continued its role as one of Australia’s “funnest” intelligence agencies, with the release of a run of 50,000 commemorative 50-cent coins etched with a code and covered with lines and lines of numbers, as well as the phrase “reveal and protect”. This 100% is going to be a magnet for conspiracy theories.

If you think we’re being melodramatic, just check out the history of nutty theories that have attached themselves to filthy lucre throughout history.

The Eye of Providence

Probably the most famous money-related conspiracy theory centres on the “Eye of Providence”. The disembodied eye floating above an unfinished pyramid — which to be fair sounds like it should be a poster on a perpetually stoned teenager’s wall — is actually on the US$1 bill. Intended as a reference to the benevolent eye of God, it has forked off into a series of entirely different interpretations. For the longest time it was taken to be a reference to Freemasonry, which uses similar iconography, and thus as evidence of the Freemasons’ secret influence in the founding of America. Good lord, Freemason conspiracy theories seem quaint now.

More recently, it has morphed into a focal point for Illuminati conspiracy theorists. Illuminati theories were the go-to shadowy cabal prior to QAnon: first centring on a real Bavarian secret society of that name, which had limited influence for roughly a decade in the late 1700s, and now largely concerning celebrities like Jay-Z and Madonna supposedly conspiring to control world events. The Illuminati theory bubbled up when Joe Biden was sworn in as president, with viral posts saying his ornate Bible was “Masonic/Illuminati”.

Satan’s Bankcard

It’s passed into the realm of anecdote now, but in the 1970s when the Bankcard — Australia and New Zealand’s first mass-market credit card — was first introduced, it attracted a persistent conspiracy theory. Apparently the “bbb” on the card itself was actually “666”, the mark of the beast in Revelation and thus the introduction of the Bankcard marked the beginning of the end of the world. As it turns out, Bankcard had its own Great Tribulation and conked out in 2006.

COVID and the ten-dollar note

The COVID-19 pandemic has been fertile ground for conspiracy theorists the world over. Among the stranger local iterations was a post on a popular COVID conspiracy Facebook group, which focused on the reflective gold security image in the top right of the Dame Mary Gilmore side of the note, captioned: “The new $10 Australian note complete with coronavirus symbols. You can’t make this up! #areyouawakeyet.”

We like the addition of “you can’t make this up”, which we believe qualifies as a performative contradiction in this context. For what it’s worth, the image is actually a Bramble wattle, according to the RBA, rather than the coronavirus under a microscope.

Still, we’re sure a clatter of numbers and symbols, advertised as a recruitment tool for a giant government surveillance agency, won’t attract any of that kind of attention. Our theory on the code, given the Australian intelligence community’s love of feeble jokes, is that it’s the lyrics to “In Da Club”.

Have we missed any great conspiracy theories hidden in the design of money? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.