Collection PL

About 1994.pl

The First Republic (1910–1926) left Portugal a short but ornate paper-money record. At its peak sits the 50 Mil Réis of 1917, a large, allegorical design where engraving, tint and watermark choices carried the weight of state credit. To reach a finished plate, Banco de Portugal’s printer advanced through progressive proofs that isolate line work and spacing in single-color states, and then locked the approved layout as a Specimen without serials or live signatures. Those steps survive as the cleanest evidence of intent, long before tills and counters left their edits.

The pair presented here — a front progressive proof and a full specimen — captures that workflow end to end. Read together, they show how ornaments, portrait fields and guilloche were tuned, where margins were fixed, and how the security vocabulary of the Republic was set on paper. Use the filters above to pivot by type or year as this section grows with further proofs, specimens and archival pulls that document Portugal’s early twentieth-century printing at plate-true resolution.

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Portugal 50 Mil Réis Specimen, ND (1917), Pick 110s, PMG 35

Portugal 1917 - Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis Specimen (Pick 110s)

Specimen of the Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis, the grandest denomination of the First Republic’s intricate 1916–1919 issue. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, without serials or signatures and perforated SPECIMEN, it reveals the full design before numbering and underprint were applied. PMG 35 Choice Very Fine. Read more →

PortugalSpecimen191750 Mil RéisPMG 35 Choice Very Fine Portugal First RepublicPick 110sPick 110ND 1917High DenominationPortugal1917
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Portugal 50 Mil Réis front progressive proof, ND (1917), Pick 110pp1, PMG 25 EPQ

Portugal 1917 - Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis Front Progressive Proof (Pick 110pp1)

Front progressive proof for the Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis, printed in a single intaglio color to test composition and line fidelity before the final multi-color stones were prepared. Without underprint or overprint, it exposes the engraver’s hand-the bare guilloche network and portrait cartouche that later defined the completed note. PMG 25 EPQ Very Fine. Read more →

PortugalProgressive Proof191750 Mil RéisPMG 25 EPQ Very Fine Portugal First RepublicPick 110pp1ND 1917Pick 110Portugal1917
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Portugal 1799 Real Erario 20000 reis apólice issued in Lisboa, serial number 37723 in red, blind embossed seal on the face, no red overprint present, with multiple official ink seals on the reverse

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

The reverse is densely documented with multiple black ink official seals bearing heraldic devices and circular legends. These seals include clearly legible dated impressions corresponding to successive years of administrative handling, specifically 1800, 1801, 1809, and 1811. Together, these dated seals demonstrate that the apólice remained in active fiscal recognition and was repeatedly validated by treasury authorities for more than a decade following its original issue. This sequence confirms long-term administrative continuity and sustained acceptance without the application of a red overprint. Read more →

PortugalPublic Debt Bond179920000 ReisVery Fine Public Debt BondApolice20000 ReisPayable to BearerBlind Embossed SealMultiple Reverse SealsNo OverprintOriginal IssuePre War of the BrothersReal ErarioLisboaPortuguese Treasury FinanceRoyal Era Fiscal PaperEighteenth Century State DebtAdministrative Validation SealsFiscal Control HistorySecurity Printing HistoryPortuguese Monetary HistoryPortugal17991811Museum GradeR9 Extremely Rare
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Great Britain 1922 Thomas Cook and Son 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque specimen printed in brown with red specimen and cancellation markings, portrait vignette, large denomination devices, and reverse payment text for Thomas Cook and Son Bankers Limited.

Great Britain 1922 - Thomas Cook and Son 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The face design combines a strong Thomas Cook and Son title banner, large 5 Pounds denomination devices, dense guilloche patterning, a portrait vignette at the right, and a layered security background designed to convey institutional reliability and protect against alteration. The payment text identifies the cheque as payable in the British Isles and in other countries through the firm's established international network, reflecting the mature form of the traveller's cheque as a portable and identity-linked financial instrument.

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