Description and research notes
Perforated specimen of the twenty francs note of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg dated 1966, produced as part of the official reference and control material for the Grand Duke Jean series within the Belgian Luxembourg Economic Union framework. Printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company, London, the note carries the finalized design of the issued type together with multiple specimen and cancellation markings documenting its non-circulating production status.
The obverse presents Grand Duke Jean in formal military attire, engraved in finely controlled intaglio and integrated within the completed multicolor guilloche structure of the 1966 issue. Blue, green, pink and grey security elements surround the portrait and denomination fields, while the watermark depicts Grand Duke Jean within the left portion of the note.
Serial number A000000 is printed in red at both left and right. A horizontal red SPECIMEN overprint extends across the lower portion of the design, accompanied by two punch-hole cancellations through the signature area. The word CANCELLED is additionally perforated across the right-center of the obverse, creating a second form of physical cancellation within the same specimen.
The reverse carries the number 62 in the upper-left margin. The Moselle river landscape occupies the principal design field, showing the river, vineyards, transportation infrastructure and surrounding terrain within a finely engraved framework. A red SPECIMEN overprint is positioned across the upper center, while the perforated CANCELLED marking and dual punch-hole cancellations continue through the note.
The combination of serial A000000, reverse number 62, horizontal SPECIMEN overprints, dual punch-hole cancellations and perforated CANCELLED marking documents a distinctive specimen treatment within the surviving Pick 54s material. It provides an additional production-stage form of the finalized 1966 twenty francs design and expands the documented specimen material associated with the Grand Duke Jean issue.
Within the broader Luxembourg production sequence represented in the collection, this piece forms part of a group that includes photographic proofs, color trial material, finalized specimens and issued notes. Together, these surviving forms document the progression of the twenty francs design through development, evaluation, control and circulation stages.
