Collection PL

United States 1872 – State of South Carolina $20 Revenue Bond Scrip (Act of March 2, 1872, Columbia Issue, PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated)

The $20 Revenue Bond Scrip of the State of South Carolina, dated March 2, 1872, represents one of the most ornate and historically revealing fiscal issues of the Reconstruction era. Authorized by the Act of March 2, 1872, these notes were used by the state government to pay outstanding obligations and to serve as tax receipts during a period of severe post–Civil War financial strain. Printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York, the scrip combined fine engraving, symbolic imagery, and the technical artistry characteristic of the firm’s early 1870s production. ... Read more →

United States 1872 – State of South Carolina $50 Revenue Bond Scrip (Act of March 2, 1872, Columbia Issue, PMG 67 EPQ Superb Gem Uncirculated)

The fifty-dollar Revenue Bond Scrip authorized by the Act of March 2, 1872, stands among the most elaborate and symbolically charged notes of Reconstruction-era South Carolina. Produced by the American Bank Note Company of New York, these notes were issued to pay state obligations and to function as tax receipts, serving as both a medium of exchange and an assertion of solvency during a turbulent postwar decade. The design balances artistry and propaganda. ... Read more →

United States ca. 1960s–70s – American Bank Note Company Test Note, 10 Units, Green Series of 1929 (With Watermark and Segmented Foil Security Thread, PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated)

This engraved test note by the American Bank Note Company (ABNCo) represents one of the firm’s most enduring demonstration designs, known as the 'Series of 1929' specimen. Although dated 1929, these were printed decades later—primarily in the 1960s and 1970s—as house proofs and sales samples showcasing engraving precision, watermark technology, and later innovations such as foil-thread anti-counterfeiting devices. The layout follows classic ABNCo symmetry: a central allegorical portrait of Liberty, derived from earlier U.S. ... Read more →

Argentina 1869 — Banco Domingo Garbino, 5 Pesos Fuertes Issued Note with Red Overprint (Pick S1803)

Issued 5 Pesos Fuertes note of Banco Domingo Garbino, printed by the American Bank Note Company (Compañía Americana de Billetes de Banco Nueva York) and formally activated for circulation through the large diagonal red overprint “DOMINGO GARBINO.” This overprint was not decorative nor optional: it was the legal validation required to transform the bank’s remainder stock (Pick S1792r) into fully issued, signed, numbered, and payable currency. For this reason, Pick S1803 represents the only surviving issued form of the Garbino 5 Pesos Fuertes denomination. The base printing displays ABNC’s early post-Civil-War engraving style: a vigilant dog guarding a strongbox at top center, allegorical female portraits representing rural labor and domestic virtue, and deep green lathe-work executed with the precision that made ABNC the dominant security printer in the Americas. ... Read more →

United States 1854 — Empire City Bank 100 Dollars Proof (Pick NY1585G16P)

This note represents a proof of the one hundred dollars denomination prepared for the Empire City Bank of New York during the final year of the institution’s operation. It was produced as part of the internal design approval and engraving review process and was never intended for public circulation. As such, it belongs to the documentary layer of American private banknote production rather than to issued or remainder currency. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1870 — El Banco Franco Platense 20 Pesos Dos Doblones Issued Note (Pick S173a)

This 20 Pesos note was issued by El Banco Franco Platense in Montevideo and dated 1 de Agosto de 1870. The denomination is expressed both as Veinte Pesos and Dos Doblones, reflecting contemporary dual-value terminology within Uruguay's evolving monetary structure during the late nineteenth century. The note was engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York, a major supplier of security printing to Latin American commercial banks during this period. ... Read more →

Argentina 1869 — Banco Domingo Garbino, 1 Peso Fuerte Issued Note with Red Overprint (Pick S1802)

Issued 1 Peso Fuerte note of Banco Domingo Garbino, printed by the American Bank Note Company (Compañía Americana de Billetes de Banco Nueva York) and formally activated for circulation through the large vertical red overprint “DOMINGO GARBINO.” This overprint was the legal validation required to convert remainder stock (Pick S1791) into fully issued, signed, numbered, and payable currency. Pick S1802 represents the only surviving issued form of the Garbino 1 Peso denomination. The base design reflects ABNC’s late 1860s export engraving style. ... Read more →