Collection PL

Argentina 1876 — Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte Specimen (Pick S1880s)

This specimen represents the sole documented control specimen of the Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte issue, printed in 1876 by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London for one of Argentina’s provincially chartered banks during the formative period of regional monetary autonomy. It is not part of a surviving series, but a single archival output with no issued, proof, or parallel specimen counterparts known. The Banco de San Juan operated within the interior province of San Juan during a period when Argentina’s banking system was highly decentralized. ... Read more →

Argentina 1876 — Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes Specimen (S1881s)

This specimen represents the sole documented control specimen of the Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes issue, printed in 1876 by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London for the provincial Bank of San Juan. It is not part of a surviving series but a single archival output, with no issued, proof, or parallel specimen counterparts known. The Banco de San Juan operated within Argentina’s interior Andean province during a period when provincial banks exercised near-sovereign authority over local credit and currency issuance. ... 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 →

Poland 1940 — 10 Złotych Bank Emisyjny w Polsce Prefix C Kraków Issue Approval Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This Prefix C approval specimen of the 10 Złotych issue documents the formal authorization stage of one of the core denominations of the 1940 General Government banknote series. Dated Kraków, 1 March 1940, the note represents the fully approved production standard used to initiate circulation printing by Bank Emisyjny w Polsce. The specimen is fully engraved and signed, corresponding in design, layout, and security structure to the issued banknote. ... Read more →

Poland 1940 — 20 Złotych Bank Emisyjny w Polsce Prefix A Kraków Issue Approval Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This Prefix A approval specimen of the 20 Złotych issue documents the formal authorization stage of the occupation-era monetary system administered by Bank Emisyjny w Polsce. Dated Kraków, 1 March 1940, the note represents the fully accepted production standard from which circulation printing was initiated. It is a completed, signed, and institutionally approved banknote retained as a reference at the moment when monetary authority was translated into physical form. ... Read more →

Barbados 1980 — Government of Barbados 500 Dollars Treasury Bill, Specimen, Red Overprint, No Prefix

This Treasury Bill specimen was issued by the Government of Barbados under the authority of the Treasury Bills (Local) Act of 1922 and represents a non-circulating fiscal instrument prepared for internal treasury reference and archival retention. The denomination of five hundred dollars reflects a lower-tier value within the Barbados Treasury Bill structure, intended for routine accounting and liquidity operations rather than high-value treasury settlements. The note is printed in a multicolour engraved security design, framed by an ornate guilloche border and filled with a dense repeating “Government of Barbados” underprint across the entire face. ... Read more →

Barbados 1980 — Government of Barbados 10,000 Dollars Treasury Bill, Specimen, Punch Hole Cancelled, No Prefix

This Treasury Bill specimen was issued by the Government of Barbados under the authority of the Treasury Bills (Local) Act of 1922 and represents a non-circulating fiscal instrument prepared for internal treasury reference and archival retention. The denomination of ten thousand dollars reflects a high-value obligation within the Barbados Treasury Bill structure, intended for significant accounting and liquidity operations rather than routine fiscal use. The note is printed in a refined multicolour engraved security design, framed by an ornate guilloche border and filled with a dense repeating “Government of Barbados” underprint across the entire face. ... Read more →

United States 1934 — New Jersey, County of Atlantic School Scrip Ten Dollars Specimen (November 1 Issue)

This specimen represents an official county-level school tax scrip issued by the County of Atlantic, New Jersey, dated November 1, 1934, and denominated Ten Dollars. It belongs to a category of legally authorized educational finance instruments created during the Great Depression, when counties were confronted with the collapse of normal revenue flows and were forced to adopt extraordinary measures to sustain public schooling. Unlike informal emergency substitutes or privately issued local notes, this instrument was grounded in a defined statutory and administrative framework. ... Read more →

United States 1933 — New Jersey, Borough of Palmyra Municipal Scrip Five Dollars Specimen (General Obligation)

This specimen represents an official municipal scrip issued by the Borough of Palmyra, Burlington County, New Jersey, Series of 1933, and denominated Five Dollars. It originates from the most acute phase of the Great Depression, when local governments faced severe liquidity shortages and were compelled to issue interest-bearing scrip to meet ordinary municipal obligations in the absence of sufficient circulating cash. Municipal scrip functioned as a direct acknowledgment of indebtedness by the issuing authority, intended for local circulation or settlement rather than long-term financing. ... Read more →

United States 1935 — New Jersey, Borough of Palmyra Municipal Scrip One Dollar Specimen (General Obligation)

This specimen represents an official municipal scrip issued by the Borough of Palmyra, Burlington County, New Jersey, Series of 1935, and denominated One Dollar. It belongs to the later phase of Depression-era local finance, when smaller municipalities continued to rely on interest-bearing scrip to manage routine obligations amid prolonged economic strain and uneven recovery. Municipal scrip differed from tax anticipation notes and formal bond issues in that it functioned as a direct acknowledgment of indebtedness by the issuing municipality, intended for circulation or settlement within the local economy. ... Read more →

United States 1934 — New Jersey, City of Asbury Park Tax Anticipation Note One Dollar Recovery Bond Specimen (March 31 Issue)

This specimen represents an official municipal tax anticipation note issued by the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey, dated March 31, 1934, and denominated One Dollar. Explicitly titled TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE OF 1934 and further identified on the design as a RECOVERY BOND, the instrument forms part of a structured municipal financing program implemented during the depth of the Great Depression, when local governments faced severe cash shortages and unstable revenue collection. Tax anticipation notes were legally authorized short-term obligations designed to transform expected tax receipts into immediate operating funds. ... Read more →

United States 1934 — New Jersey, City of Asbury Park Tax Anticipation Note Five Dollars Recovery Bond Specimen (March 31 Issue)

This specimen represents an official municipal tax anticipation note issued by the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey, dated March 31, 1934, and denominated Five Dollars. Explicitly titled TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE OF 1934 and prominently labeled RECOVERY BOND, the instrument forms part of a coordinated municipal financing program implemented during the most severe phase of the Great Depression, when local governments faced acute revenue shortfalls and escalating insolvency risk. Tax anticipation notes were legally sanctioned debt instruments designed to convert expected tax revenues into immediate operating capital. ... Read more →