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Luxembourg’s paper-money sits inside the Belgian–Luxembourg monetary union (BLEU) yet keeps a distinctly national look. From the 1960s through the early 1980s, the visual language—fine lathework, tight guilloches, restrained pastels—was shaped by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. and De La Rue. The cleanest record of that craft isn’t in pocket-worn notes but in the photographic proofs, printer’s proofs and specimens that escaped the printers’ archives.

This page anchors two connected chapters. First, the 1970 100 Francs (Grand Duke Jean): we show face & back photographic proofs, a rare gridline specimen used for plate alignment at De La Rue, a color-trial, a specimen, and the issued note—an end-to-end view of how BLEU-era design moved from studio film to press. Second, the unissued 1982 high denominations (500 & 1000 Francs) prepared by BWC: created as a contingency during the 1982 devaluation shock, fully proofed and color-tested, then shelved when policy stabilized and the Institut Monétaire Luxembourgeois (1983) re-anchored joint issuance. Because circulation never happened, proofs and SPECIMENs are the only witnesses—rare, high-grade survivors that document a national series “ready to print” but never released. Use the filters above to pivot by type, printer or year; card-level text ties each piece back to this story so the set reads as one coherent chapter.

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Luxembourg 20 Francs back photographic proof ca. 1965

Luxembourg ND (ca. 1965) — 20 Francs (Back Photographic Proof, Unlisted)

Back-side photographic proof for the same unissued 20 Francs project, mounted on archive card and annotated in pencil. Rendered entirely in grayscale, it isolates the compositional logic of the design—vignette, numerals, and inscriptions tested for spacing and tone before translation to metal plates. PCGS 63 Apparent (Mounted). ... Read more →

LuxembourgPhotographic Proof (Back)196520 FrancsPCGS 63 Apparent (Mounted) Photographic ProofBackPick UnlistedLuxembourg1965
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