Collection PL

Mauritius 1839 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 20 Dollars / 4 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled Note (Pick S125)

One of the earliest surviving issued notes of the Mauritius Commercial Bank-the oldest banking institution in the Indian Ocean-this 1839 Twenty Dollar / Four Pounds Sterling note is a foundational artifact of Mauritian monetary history. Issued only one year after the bank’s founding in 1838, it belongs to the first generation of fully functional colonial paper money used on the island. These early issues circulated at a time when coin shortages were severe, and private banknotes became the primary medium of exchange for merchants, plantation owners, and shipping houses. ... Read more →

United States 1830s - Pennsylvania, Philadelphia - Penn Township Savings Institution 10 Cents Proof (Unlisted)

This engraved proof note was prepared for the Penn Township Savings Institution of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the early 1830s. Rather than serving as circulating currency, the document represents a fractional savings deposit certificate issued by one of the many mutual savings institutions that emerged in American cities during the early nineteenth century. The text of the instrument reveals its purpose: a depositor places ten cents with the institution, which promises repayment with interest at two percent per annum, or redemption on demand once the accumulated balance reaches five dollars in current bank notes. ... Read more →

Lower Canada 1837 - Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad - 15 Sous, Quarter Dollar, Half Dollar (Full Uncut Dual Series Sheet)

Issued on August 1, 1837, by the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad in Lower Canada, this uncut sheet represents one of the earliest surviving forms of transportation-issued currency in British North America. The Champlain and St. ... Read more →

United States 1838 - Olney, Alabama 25 Cents, 50 Cents, 1 Dollar Uncut Sheet Remainder

This uncut sheet represents a remainder issue of fractional and small denomination notes associated with Olney, Alabama, dated 1838. Comprising three vertically arranged designs of twenty five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar, the sheet was never placed into circulation and survives as a production remnant rather than an issued monetary instrument. With only remainders and a small number of falsely completed examples known, the original issuing authority of the Olney notes remains uncertain, and may not have existed as a formal banking institution. ... Read more →