Collection PL

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

The specimen carries dual live serial prefixes (7/180001–7/220000), confirming its place within an active production range. The perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel prevented circulation, while the pencil annotation dated 29 September 1917 corresponds to the production record associated with the piece. PMG records this feature as Printer’s Annotation. Read more →

New Zealand 1913 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Multi-Serial Approval Specimen (Pick S192ms)

A numbered approval specimen of the Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange design, printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, circa 1913. Though derived from the original 1895 S192 plate, this example bears two distinct serial numbers (286901 and 296900), identifying it as a multi-serial approval specimen drawn from the opening and closing positions of a controlled production range. Such pieces were created for printer audit, plate verification, and contractual record-keeping rather than circulation. PMG catalogs this variant as Pick S192ms. Read more →

Australia 1905–1910 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Specimen Proof (Pick Unlisted)

This proof connects directly to the artistic lineage of earlier Bradbury Wilkinson work for Victoria’s private banks, such as the City of Melbourne and Federal Bank series, underscoring the continuity of engraving excellence and the global reach of London’s security printers at the dawn of Australia’s national currency era. Read more →

Australia 1880-1889 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited £5 with Serial Prefix SPECIMEN (Pick Unlisted, MVR4a)

Colouration is restrained compared to later proof or finished production states, indicating an earlier stage in the approval or validation process. Engraving quality, paper, and layout correspond to Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. master production standards for Australian private banks at the close of the nineteenth century. Read more →

New Zealand 1895–1915 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Specimen (Pick S192s)

The high-denomination anchor of the Bank of New Zealand color series, this five pounds orange specimen (Pick S192s) represents one of the most structurally complex and production-informative notes of New Zealand’s private banking era. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company, Limited, London, it embodies the transition from richly ornamental Victorian engraving toward the more controlled and symmetrical Edwardian framework that followed. The composition preserves the defining elements of the earlier series-paired Māori figures within oval medallions at left, a lower maritime vignette reflecting colonial trade identity, and a dense guilloche lattice enclosing the denomination-while introducing a more disciplined spatial hierarchy across the central obligation panel. Read more →

Great Britain c.1806–1812 - Derby Bank £5 Proof (Pick Unlisted)

At the time this proof was produced, Britain’s monetary system was still decentralized. Hundreds of private and provincial banks issued their own notes, payable on demand and backed by local reputation rather than a central authority. Derby Bank operated within this framework, issuing notes tailored specifically to its regional clientele. Such banks relied on London correspondents-here explicitly named as Samuel Smith & Co., Bankers, London-to facilitate redemption, settlement, and credibility beyond their immediate locality. Read more →

Great Britain 1922 - Thomas Cook and Son 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Photographic proof of the 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque prepared for Thomas Cook and Son in the early 1920s, produced during the post First World War consolidation phase of the firm's international payment system. Mounted on cardstock and preserved as a production-stage reference image, this proof records the engraved face before the finalized specimen form was printed for presentation and control use. Read more →

Australia 1939 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Travellers Cheque Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Historically, this 1939 proof bridges the institutional continuity between Australia’s interwar financial infrastructure and its postwar traveller’s cheque system. It documents how Australian banks maintained London-based printing contracts to guarantee international recognition and anti-counterfeit standards decades before modern traveler payment systems emerged. Read more →

Australia 1963 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Travellers Cheque Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

The piece captures the final monochrome layout used for the £5 denomination, showing alignment marks, margins, and design placement in photographic negative format. It represents a form of Australian banking ephemera rarely preserved outside institutional archives, bridging the worlds of banknote design, printing technology, and the evolution of financial instruments for international travel. Read more →

Australia 1963 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Travellers Cheque Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The CBC of Sydney was a cornerstone of Australian finance, founded in 1834 and later merging into the National Australia Bank. Its traveller’s cheque program reflected both the confidence and sophistication of the postwar Australian economy. Before credit cards, such cheques provided a secure means for travellers to carry and exchange money internationally, backed by the issuing bank’s reputation. Read more →

Australia 1961 - Bank of New South Wales Sterling Travellers Cheques, Complete Printer’s Proof Set £2-£50 (Pick Unlisted)

A complete archival printer’s proof set of five Sterling Traveller’s Cheques produced by Bradbury Wilkinson & Company in London for the Bank of New South Wales in April 1961. The set comprises the full denomination range - 2 Pounds, 5 Pounds, 10 Pounds, 20 Pounds, and 50 Pounds - preserved together from a single, documented submission event within the printer’s internal approval and numbering workflow. Read more →

South Africa 1861 - Montagu Bank 5 Pounds Remainder (Pick S231r)

This note is an unissued remainder of the Montagu Bank five pounds denomination, produced in the early 1860s during the brief operational life of one of the Cape Colony’s most distinctive private commercial banks. As the highest denomination authorized by the Montagu Bank, the five pounds issue occupied the uppermost tier of the institution’s monetary structure and was intended for large commercial settlements, capital transactions, and internal accounting rather than routine daily exchange. Read more →