Collection PL

Australia 1905–1910 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Specimen Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Proof specimen printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. between 1905 and 1910 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED — one of Australia’s oldest and most respected private banks, founded in 1834. The CBC operated independently until its 1981 merger with the National Bank of Australasia, forming today’s NAB. ... Read more →

Italy 1868 — Banco di Napoli Fede di Credito 50–200 Lire Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Specimen Fede di Credito from the Banco di Napoli, engraved by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. during the early years of the unified Kingdom of Italy. The Banco di Napoli traced its roots back to charitable institutions founded in 1539, making it one of Europe’s oldest surviving banks. ... Read more →

Luxembourg 1970 — 100 Francs Issued Note (Pick 56a)

Issued 1970 one hundred francs note of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, representing the finalized and circulating form of the Grand Duke Jean series within the Belgian Luxembourg Economic Union framework. This example, serial A143655, reflects the completed execution of a design system that balanced national identity with the technical demands of a shared currency environment. The note embodies the mature stage of late twentieth-century European banknote production. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1934 — Reserve Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings Photographic Face Proof (Pick 154p)

This photographic face proof preserves the engraved design prepared for the first 10 Shillings banknote issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand following the creation of the central bank under the Reserve Bank Act of 1933. The proof represents the pre-press stage of the denomination, recording the completed engraving before the design was transferred to printing plates for circulation production. The note belongs to the inaugural Reserve Bank series commonly known as the "Lefeaux series", named for Leslie Lefeaux, the institution’s first Governor. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1997 — Thomas De La Rue 100 Units Test Note Portal Watermark

A rare Thomas De La Rue test note, issued as a demonstration piece rather than circulating currency. Dated ND (1997), this 100 Units note was printed to showcase De La Rue’s advanced banknote security design, incorporating microtext, guilloche patterns, and the portal watermark. The obverse features a portrait of Thomas De La Rue with multicolor lathework and the company’s headquarters vignette. ... Read more →

United States 1830s — Pennsylvania, Philadelphia — Penn Township Savings Institution 10 Cents Proof (Unlisted)

This engraved proof note was prepared for the Penn Township Savings Institution of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the early 1830s. Rather than serving as circulating currency, the document represents a fractional savings deposit certificate issued by one of the many mutual savings institutions that emerged in American cities during the early nineteenth century. The text of the instrument reveals its purpose: a depositor places ten cents with the institution, which promises repayment with interest at two percent per annum, or redemption on demand once the accumulated balance reaches five dollars in current bank notes. ... Read more →

Canada 1896 — Bank of Nova Scotia 20 Dollars Front and Back Proofs (Pick Unlisted)

Matched front and back proof pair of the 20 Dollars banknote issued by The Bank of Nova Scotia of Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated 22 July 1896. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York, the pair documents the approval stage of one of the most elaborate chartered banknote designs produced in Canada during the late nineteenth century. The front proof is printed in black and white, the standard format used for die and plate approval. ... Read more →

Fiji 1942 — 1 Pound Government of Fiji Overprint on New Zealand £1 (Pick 45c)

This one pound note issued for Fiji in 1942 was created by overprinting an existing Reserve Bank of New Zealand £1 note originally dated 1 August 1934. The base note was printed by Thomas De La Rue & Company in London for circulation in New Zealand, but during the Second World War it was adapted for emergency use within the British colony of Fiji. In early 1942 Japanese military expansion across the Pacific severely disrupted supply lines throughout the British colonial network. ... Read more →

Argentina 1869 — Banco Domingo Garbino, 5 Pesos Fuertes Issued Note with Red Overprint (Pick S1803)

Issued 5 Pesos Fuertes note of Banco Domingo Garbino, printed by the American Bank Note Company (Compañía Americana de Billetes de Banco Nueva York) and formally activated for circulation through the large diagonal red overprint “DOMINGO GARBINO.” This overprint was not decorative nor optional: it was the legal validation required to transform the bank’s remainder stock (Pick S1792r) into fully issued, signed, numbered, and payable currency. For this reason, Pick S1803 represents the only surviving issued form of the Garbino 5 Pesos Fuertes denomination. The base printing displays ABNC’s early post-Civil-War engraving style: a vigilant dog guarding a strongbox at top center, allegorical female portraits representing rural labor and domestic virtue, and deep green lathe-work executed with the precision that made ABNC the dominant security printer in the Americas. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00589 (Pick S455)

An extraordinarily rare issued 2000 reales vellón banknote from the Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00589. Classified as Pick S455, this note represents the highest denomination placed into active circulation by the bank. Very few issued examples of any Banco de Zaragoza notes survive, and among these, the 2000 reales denomination is one of the most elusive. ... Read more →

New Caledonia 1871 — French Treasury Second of Exchange for 2,000 Francs (Service des Colonies)

A colonial treasury bill of exchange issued in 1871 under the authority of the French public treasury for the colony of New Caledonia. This document represents the second of exchange (*seconde*), forming part of a standard multi-part financial instrument employed by the French administration to execute high-value intercontinental payments within the colonial fiscal system. The bill was drawn by the *Caissier Payeur central du Trésor public (Service des Colonies)* and made payable to order in New Caledonia for the sum of two thousand francs. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1939 — Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 1000 Pesos Specimen, Perforated Cancel, Series A–B (Pick 41as)

This specimen note represents a distinct institutional handling variant of the one thousand pesos denomination of the Republica Oriental del Uruguay issued under the monetary law of 2 January 1939, during the mature phase of state-directed banking and currency policy in Uruguay. As the highest denomination issued within the national paper money system at the time, the 1000 pesos was reserved exclusively for interbank settlement, treasury accounting, and large-scale financial operations, and was never intended for routine public circulation. By the late 1930s, the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay functioned as the central pillar of the country’s monetary framework, combining commercial banking activity with responsibility for currency issuance, financial regulation, and monetary stability. ... Read more →