Collection

Brazil 1963 — Tesouro Nacional 10 Cruzeiros (Pick 167b, PMG 67 EPQ)

The 10 Cruzeiros note dated 1963 was issued by the Tesouro Nacional during the turbulent final years of Brazil’s first Cruzeiro monetary system. Printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York, it embodies the meticulous craftsmanship and classical design language for which ABNC was world-renowned. The obverse presents a formal engraved portrait of Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil through two defining eras: his populist leadership of the 1930s and 1940s and his later return to power in the early 1950s. ... Read more →

Canada 1896 — Bank of Nova Scotia 20 Dollars Front and Back Proofs (PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated)

Matched front and back proof pair of the 20 Dollars note issued by the Bank of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated 22 July 1896. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company, New York, these proofs represent the artistic and technical pinnacle of Canadian chartered banknote design in the late 19th century. The front proof, executed in black and white, features the seated allegorical figure of Commerce holding a trident, flanked by maritime motifs referencing Halifax’s seafaring economy. ... Read more →

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 →

Uruguay 1896 — Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 100 Pesos Black Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 63 Choice New)

The 100 Pesos issue authorized under the Ley de 18 de Agosto 1896 stands as the high point of Uruguay’s late-nineteenth-century engraving work at the American Bank Note Company in New York. Conceived during a period of rapid economic modernization and heavy foreign capital inflow, this design represented the Republic’s ambition to present its currency on equal footing with the great financial institutions of Europe and the Americas. These black-and-white photographic proofs are not paper trials but original engraver’s approval prints, made directly from the master dies before any steel plates were hardened for production. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1896 — Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 10 Pesos Black Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 64 Face, 63 Back)

The 10 Pesos proof pair from Uruguay’s 1896 series embodies the American Bank Note Company’s mastery of classical engraving blended with local iconography. Produced in New York during a period of monetary consolidation under the Ley de 18 de Agosto 1896, these photographic proofs were printed from the master engravings before plate hardening. Their survival offers an unfiltered look at the artistry behind Uruguay’s first truly modern bank-note design. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1896 — Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 5 Pesos Black Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 63 Choice New)

The 5 Pesos denomination from the 1896 ABNC series illustrates how Uruguay’s central bank adopted industrial modernity as a theme for national confidence. These photographic proofs—engraver’s approval prints mounted on thin card—were created directly from the steel dies before production. They preserve the visual language of economic optimism that defined the post-Civil War generation. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1896 — Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 1 Peso Black Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 62 New Face, PCGS 63 Choice New Back)

The 1 Peso photo-proof pair from the 1896 American Bank Note Company series captures the democratic face of Uruguay’s new monetary system. While higher denominations projected international prestige, the single-peso note was designed to circulate widely and embody trust among ordinary citizens—a key goal following decades of financial upheaval. These engraver’s photographic proofs, printed on sensitized paper and mounted to card, were produced in New York as pre-production approvals. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1896 — Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 10 Pesos Sepia Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 63 Choice New)

This rare sepia-tone photo-proof pair of the 10 Pesos denomination represents the presentation-stage variant of Uruguay’s 1896 American Bank Note Company series. Produced shortly after the black-and-white engraver’s approval proofs, these warm brown photographs were intended for final client review and executive reference, retaining the same composition but rendered with the tonal depth and paper texture of finished currency. The face bears the refined portrait of José Gervasio Artigas surrounded by an intricate network of guilloches and floral motifs, while the reverse captures a luminous Montevideo harbor vignette that symbolized Uruguay’s role as the Atlantic gateway of the Southern Cone. ... Read more →

Uruguay ca. 1900–1915 — Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 100 Pesos Transitional Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 62 New)

A large-format transitional photographic proof pair by the American Bank Note Company, representing a mid-generation redesign between the engraved 1896 series and the simplified inter-war issues of the 1930s. Printed in a rich brown-olive tone on card-mounted photographic paper, this undated 100 Pesos pair bridges stylistic eras in Uruguayan currency design. The face features José Gervasio Artigas in profile surrounded by dense guilloche and laurel ornamentation, with the denomination framed in deep filigree corners. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1935 — Departamento de Emisión del Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay 1 Peso Photo Proof Pair (PCGS 64 Very Choice New)

A complete photographic proof pair for the 1935 1 Peso issue produced by the American Bank Note Company for the Departamento de Emisión del Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay. This series marked Uruguay’s transition from the private-bank era to a unified national currency design following the monetary reorganization of 1933–1934. The obverse presents José Gervasio Artigas at lower left within a crisply geometric intaglio frame, accompanied above by an allegorical female figure representing the Republic—an inter-war reinterpretation of classical liberty iconography. ... Read more →