Collection PL

Australia 1877 — Mercantile Bank of Sydney £1 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

A superb Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. specimen from the early colonial banking era, this £1 note for the Mercantile Bank of Sydney survives today as the only documented example of its type. Certified PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated and recorded as Pop 1, it represents a unique surviving specimen of a private Australian bank whose issues rarely appear in any form. ... Read more →

Australia 1879–1903 — Federal Bank of Australia, Limited £1 Sydney Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This specimen represents a one pound note prepared for the Federal Bank of Australia, Limited and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London during the bank’s short operational life between 1879 and 1903. The note carries the Sydney office imprint, identifying the colonial financial center where the issue was intended to circulate. It belongs to one of the most fragile and least documented chapters of Australia’s pre-Federation private banking era, when numerous colonial banks issued their own paper currency under uneven regulation and volatile economic conditions. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1870–1890 — Bank of New Zealand £1 Green Specimen (Pick S191s)

The first Bank of New Zealand specimen and the foundation of the country’s pre-Reserve Bank note lineage. Engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company, Limited, London, this one pound green specimen (Pick S191s) established the visual architecture reused throughout all later BNZ issues: paired Māori figures at left, an engraved coastal vignette below, and an ornate duty-tint panel framing the ONE POUND denomination. This design became the structural and visual origin of the Bank of New Zealand color lineage that defined New Zealand’s early commercial-bank currency. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 — Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix G000001–G100000 (Pick S212bs)

An archival £1 Red specimen from the Bank of New Zealand private-issue series, catalogued as Pick S212bs and drawn from the opening serial block G000001–G100000. This example was pulled directly from the working plates of Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, as an approval and control specimen for internal printer and bank-director reference during the closing phase of BNZ private note production. The presence of live production serial numbers with the letter prefix G clearly distinguishes this class from unnumbered file specimens. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 — Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix G100001–G300000 (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the G100001–G300000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Fully executed in final inks with live production numbering and perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel, identifying it as a printer-archive invalidation of a fully finished note rather than a proof or unfinished file copy. This cancelled variant represents the second major production block of the BNZ £1 Red sequence. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 — Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix E300001–E400000 (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the terminal E300001–E400000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Perforated SPECIMEN across the signature panel and preserved with wide selvage, this pull represents the final and rarest stage of BNZ £1 Red archival production. The E-prefix rollover marks a distinct late-WWI production phase involving plate recalibration and alphabetic reset within Bradbury Wilkinson’s numbering system. ... Read more →

Ireland 1920 — Ulster Bank Ltd. £1 (Proof)

Archival proof for Ulster Bank Ltd., dated 1920. Printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, the note displays finely executed allegories and maritime motifs, reflecting both classical design and national symbolism in the early 20th century. The Waterlow imprint remains visible in the margin, a hallmark of genuine proofs. ... Read more →

Fiji 1942 — 1 Pound Government of Fiji Overprint on New Zealand £1 (Pick 45c)

This one pound note issued for Fiji in 1942 was created by overprinting an existing Reserve Bank of New Zealand £1 note originally dated 1 August 1934. The base note was printed by Thomas De La Rue & Company in London for circulation in New Zealand, but during the Second World War it was adapted for emergency use within the British colony of Fiji. In early 1942 Japanese military expansion across the Pacific severely disrupted supply lines throughout the British colonial network. ... Read more →

Ireland 1940 — Northern Bank Limited £1 (Pick 178b)

Classic pre‑decimal £1 of Northern Bank Limited, Belfast, with the dramatic blue ONE counter across the center. Maritime and industrial vignettes reflect the bank’s Ulster customer base—shipping, linen, and engineering—and the note retains the ornate Victorian border language long favored by Northern Irish issuers. This is the black‑prefix and black‑serial variety recorded for 1940 within Pick 178b. ... Read more →

Ireland 1939–40 — Belfast Banking Company Limited £1 (Pick 126b, PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated)

£1 note of the Belfast Banking Company Limited, dated 9 November 1939, with the arms of Belfast and the bank’s name in a sweeping banner. The face carries the finely engraved counters "ONE" in the corners and a blue value panel through the promise text—an eye‑catching security feature on this inter‑war design. Pick 126b identifies the late 1930s series with blue serials; this example is prefixed E/M, a style used by the bank to manage branches and print batches. ... Read more →

Scotland 1959 — National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited £1 (Pick 265, Bradbury Wilkinson, PMG 58 EPQ Choice About Uncirculated)

One Pound of the National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited dated 16 September 1959. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company, the note carries the Head of Caledonia watermark and presents a panoramic view of the Forth Bridge—Scotland's engineering icon—beneath the central promise text. The National Commercial Bank was a pillar of Scottish banking until its merger with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1969. ... Read more →

Scotland 1956–64 — The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 (Pick 324b, With Engraver's Name on Back, PMG 64 EPQ Choice Uncirculated)

Royal Bank of Scotland One Pound of the 1956–64 series, variety with the engraver's imprint on back as cited by PMG. The face carries the bank's crowned arms and the long‑standing central medallion portrait associated with the institution since the eighteenth century, surrounded by a dense field of micro‑lettered Royal Bank of Scotland repeats. Production credit on this type appears as W and A K Johnston and G W Bacon Ltd Edinburgh, reflecting Scottish engraving traditions as late as the mid‑twentieth century before most issuers shifted to London firms. ... Read more →