Description and research notes
Regular issued 100 Dollars of the 1985–1989 paper series signed by S. T. Russell as Chief Cashier and printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Company for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The design belongs to the last crimson paper hundreds portraying Queen Elizabeth II before the country’s move to polymer; it retains the Captain Cook watermark, deep intaglio guilloches and the vivid multi‑tone palette typical of Bradbury Wilkinson’s late work. This example, serial YAB369567, is certified PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated with bright original paper and exceptional eye appeal. Paired with the two official specimens (overprint and perforated) from the same Russell signature series, it completes a three‑piece study of how the Reserve Bank documented and issued its highest denomination at the end of the paper era.