Collection PL

Austria 1806 — Wiener Stadt Banco 10 Gulden Issued Note (Pick A39a)

The 10 Gulden Banco-Zettel of 1806, issued by the Wiener Stadt Banco and catalogued as Pick A39a, represents the upper operational tier of Austria’s first fiduciary paper money system. Introduced as part of the Banco-Zettel reforms beginning in 1796, these notes were created to finance sustained military conflict and expanding state expenditure during the Napoleonic Wars, at a moment when metallic reserves were insufficient to support the needs of the Habsburg Monarchy. Within the denomination structure, 10 Gulden functioned primarily as a high-value transactional instrument. ... Read more →

France 1793 — Domaines Nationaux Assignat 10 Sous Block 305, Watermark RF/Xs (Pick A68b)

Small‑change assignat issued by the Revolutionary government for the sale and administration of the 'Domaines Nationaux'—property confiscated from the Crown, Church and émigrés. These fractional notes functioned as day‑to‑day money during the inflationary years of the Revolution. The face shows the typographic layout introduced for the small denominations: a classical frame with civic emblems and the famous border mottos 'LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR' and 'LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR'. ... Read more →

France 1793 — Domaines Nationaux Assignat 50 Sols Série 681 Watermark RF/50s (Pick A70b)

Fifty‑sols assignat from the 'Domaines Nationaux' series—fractional Revolutionary paper keyed to sales and rents of nationalized property but used broadly as transactional money. The denomination sits in a classical pediment supported by allegorical figures of Economy and Justice, a visual program meant to legitimize paper credit in a time of fiscal emergency. Design details include 'Loi du 23 Mai 1793', 'Série 681', the manuscript signature 'Fausny', an impressed state seal (timbre sec), and a purpose‑made watermark 'RF/50s'. ... Read more →

France 1792 — Domaines Nationaux Assignat 15 Sols Série 1808 (Pick A54)

Early small‑denomination assignat dated to the constitutional monarchy’s final months—'Loi du 4 Janvier 1792' and 'L’An Quatrième de la Liberté' appear in the header cartouches. Printed for the Domaines Nationaux program, these 15‑sol notes bridged everyday commerce and the land‑backed credit scheme that financed the Revolution. The frame is packed with didactic devices: laurel panels, civic emblems, the legal threats against forgers, and the reward to informers. ... Read more →

Austria 1800 — Wiener Stadt Banco 5 Gulden Issued Note (Pick A33)

The 5 Gulden note of 1800, issued by the Wiener Stadt Banco, occupies a pivotal position within Austria’s early fiduciary paper money system known as Banco-Zettel. Introduced in 1796, this system marked the Habsburg Monarchy’s first sustained attempt to replace metallic circulation with state-backed paper currency, driven by the severe fiscal pressures of continuous warfare and structural budget deficits at the end of the eighteenth century. Within the denomination hierarchy, 5 Gulden functioned as a true intermediary value. ... Read more →

Portugal 1799 — Real Erario 20000 Reis Apólice, Original Issue, No Overprint, Lisboa No. 37723

A Portuguese royal-era public debt instrument issued in Lisboa in 1799 under the authority of the Real Erario, denominated 20000 reis and payable to bearer. This document is an apólice, a formal treasury obligation representing state-backed debt issued during a period of administrative continuity in late eighteenth-century Portugal, prior to the political and fiscal disruptions of the nineteenth century. This example belongs to the original issue phase of Portuguese treasury apólices and predates the period commonly associated with the War of the Brothers. ... Read more →