Collection PL

New Zealand 1916–1920 — Bank of New Zealand £5 Red-Rose (Orange Lineage) Specimen with Serial Number Prefix (Pick S227s)

The finest preserved £5 specimen of New Zealand’s wartime private-banknote era and the highest-graded example recorded for Pick S227s. Printed in London by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. during the 1916–1920 wartime production cycle, this specimen represents an internal audit and approval piece retained from a numbered print run rather than a zero-serial display copy. ... Read more →

Portugal ND (1917) — Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis Specimen (Pick 110s)

Specimen of the Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis, the grandest denomination of the First Republic’s intricate 1916–1919 issue. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, without serials or signatures and perforated SPECIMEN, it reveals the full design before numbering and underprint were applied. PMG 35 Choice Very Fine. ... Read more →

Portugal ND (1917) — Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis Front Progressive Proof (Pick 110pp1)

Front progressive proof for the Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis, printed in a single intaglio color to test composition and line fidelity before the final multi-color stones were prepared. Without underprint or overprint, it exposes the engraver’s hand—the bare guilloche network and portrait cartouche that later defined the completed note. PMG 25 EPQ Very Fine. ... Read more →

Russia 1920 — Armed Forces of South Russia 100,000 Rubles Treasury Bill (November Issue, Pick S431c)

Six-percent short-term Treasury bill for 100,000 rubles issued by the Government Treasury of the Armed Forces of South Russia during the final phase of the Russian Civil War. This is the November 15, 1920 payable issue (Pick S431c), printed after General Pyotr Wrangel transferred the White administration to Crimea. The note follows the classical Imperial layout: bilingual Russian–French legends, the double-headed eagle in an ornate oval cartouche at left, and a formal typographic bond structure intended to signal continuity with pre-1917 state finance. ... Read more →

United States 1934 — New Jersey, City of Asbury Park Tax Anticipation Note One Dollar Recovery Bond Specimen (March 31 Issue)

This specimen represents an official municipal tax anticipation note issued by the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey, dated March 31, 1934, and denominated One Dollar. Explicitly titled TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE OF 1934 and further identified on the design as a RECOVERY BOND, the instrument forms part of a structured municipal financing program implemented during the depth of the Great Depression, when local governments faced severe cash shortages and unstable revenue collection. Tax anticipation notes were legally authorized short-term obligations designed to transform expected tax receipts into immediate operating funds. ... Read more →

United States 1934 — New Jersey, City of Asbury Park Tax Anticipation Note Five Dollars Recovery Bond Specimen (March 31 Issue)

This specimen represents an official municipal tax anticipation note issued by the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey, dated March 31, 1934, and denominated Five Dollars. Explicitly titled TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE OF 1934 and prominently labeled RECOVERY BOND, the instrument forms part of a coordinated municipal financing program implemented during the most severe phase of the Great Depression, when local governments faced acute revenue shortfalls and escalating insolvency risk. Tax anticipation notes were legally sanctioned debt instruments designed to convert expected tax revenues into immediate operating capital. ... Read more →

United States 1934 — New Jersey, City of Asbury Park Tax Anticipation Note Ten Dollars Recovery Bond Specimen (March 31 Issue)

This specimen represents an official municipal tax anticipation note issued by the City of Asbury Park, New Jersey, dated March 31, 1934, and denominated Ten Dollars. Explicitly titled TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE OF 1934 and further identified on the design as a RECOVERY BOND, the instrument belongs to a class of short-term municipal obligations created during the most acute phase of the Great Depression, when local governments faced severe cash shortages and collapsing revenue streams. Tax anticipation notes were not emergency substitutes or informal scrip, but legally sanctioned debt instruments issued in advance of expected tax receipts. ... Read more →