Collection PL

Australia 1929 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited - Circular Letter of Credit Photographic Proof (Mounted on Cardstock, PCGS 64 Very Choice New)

This photographic proof represents a Circular Letter of Credit issued by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited during the late interwar period, forming part of an international financial system that enabled secure cross-border access to funds. Unlike Letters of Introduction, which served primarily as identity credentials, the Letter of Credit functioned as a direct monetary instrument, allowing the holder to withdraw funds abroad through a structured and verifiable process. It stands as a precursor to modern traveler’s checks and early credit-based financial systems. ... Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes Central Portrait Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

This engraved central portrait vignette was produced by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company in London as the primary design element for the 1876 Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes issue. It is not an unrelated or stock engraving, but the exact central allegorical figure integrated into the final banknote design, forming a direct and inseparable component of the note’s visual and symbolic structure. The vignette depicts a classical female allegory rendered in high-precision intaglio, embodying republican ideals, stability, and institutional authority. ... Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte Condor Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

This engraved condor vignette was produced by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company in London as a primary design element for the 1876 Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte issue. It is not an isolated or stock engraving, but the exact vignette integrated into the issued design framework of the note, forming a direct and traceable component of the final composition. The vignette depicts an Andean condor standing in a mountainous landscape, engraved with layered intaglio linework and controlled tonal depth. ... Read more →

Paraguay 1907 - Banco de la República 5 Pesos with 1912 State Overprint (Pick 127, Base Pick 156)

Choice Uncirculated 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos note, printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, and later revalidated as part of Paraguay’s 1912 emergency state emission. The note is cataloged as Pick 127, created by applying the large oval face overprint “Emisión del Estado – Ley de 11 de Enero de 1912” to the original 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos base type, Pick 156. This is the standard cataloged 5 Pesos state-overprint issue and the direct counterpart to the larger 100 Pesos Pick 134 overprint on base Pick 159. ... Read more →

Barbados 1968 - Bank of Barbados 5 Dollars, Front and Back Archival Photograph (Pick Unlisted)

This item consists of a matched pair of archival photographic prints documenting the front and back designs of a proposed 5 Dollars banknote for Barbados, dated to approximately 1968 and produced by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company Limited of New Malden, Surrey, England. The pair preserves a transitional and apparently abandoned currency concept carrying the issuer name Bank of Barbados, a title that does not correspond to the formal issuing authority ultimately adopted by the country. The front design presents a complete engraved banknote layout featuring a portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second, the Barbados coat of arms, ornamental denomination panels, and the inscription Bank of Barbados across the center. ... Read more →

Ireland - Northern 1929 - Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound Uncut Sheet of 3 Proofs with Specimen Perforation (Pick Unlisted)

This Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound uncut sheet of 3 proofs belongs to the Northern Ireland Issue design group of 1929-1934 and survives in a format not represented by the standard single-note Pick listing. It is cataloged here as Pick Unlisted, while the individual proof design is associated with Pick 306p. The sheet preserves three proof impressions before separation, making it a broad production artifact rather than a single cut proof. ... Read more →

Scotland 1962 - National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited 5 Pounds Photographic Back Proof, Edinburgh Castle Design (Pick Unlisted)

This 1962 National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited 5 Pounds photographic back proof preserves the Edinburgh Castle reverse design that belongs to the visual development of the bank's early 1960s 5 Pounds issue. The proof is cataloged here as Pick Unlisted and stands as a separate production artifact for the reverse side of the design, centered on Scotland's capital rather than on the legal and textual structure of the face. The composition is built around Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding city architecture, with the fortress rising above the neoclassical buildings and urban landscape below. ... Read more →

Scotland 1962 - National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited 5 Pounds Photographic Back Proof, Landscape Design (Pick Unlisted)

This 1962 National Commercial Bank of Scotland Limited 5 Pounds photographic back proof preserves a separate landscape reverse concept from the same design period. Cataloged here as Pick Unlisted, it records a proposed scenic direction for the bank's 5 Pounds reverse, with the design organized around countryside, water, trees, distant hills, and open Scottish terrain. The image has a very different character from the Edinburgh Castle reverse. ... Read more →

Australia 1965 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney 20 Dollars Travellers Cheque Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Photographic proof for the 20 Dollars traveller's cheque prepared for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited during the 1965 Bradbury Wilkinson and Company design and approval sequence. Dated 31 March 1965 in manuscript below the proof image and preserved mounted on cardstock, this piece records the earliest known photographic review stage for the 20 Dollars denomination, appearing only eight days after the 23 March 1965 submitted design proof of the same value. The proof reproduces the 20 Dollars design in monochrome, allowing the engraved structure, text hierarchy, border density, central Australia map motif, and signature placement to be examined without the distraction of full colour. ... Read more →

Australia 1965 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney 50 Dollars Travellers Cheque Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Photographic proof for the 50 Dollars traveller's cheque prepared for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited during the 1965 Bradbury Wilkinson and Company design and approval sequence. Mounted on cardstock and dated 1 April 1965 in manuscript below the proof image, this piece records the early photographic review stage for the top denomination, following the 23 March 1965 submitted design proof and preceding the 12 April 1965 review letter noted on the companion colour proof. The proof reproduces the 50 Dollars design in monochrome, allowing the engraved structure and tonal balance of the top denomination to be studied without the full rose and pink colour scheme. ... Read more →

Australia 1965 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney 50 Dollars Travellers Cheque Approval-Stage Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Approval-stage photographic proof for the 50 Dollars traveller's cheque prepared for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited during the 1965 Bradbury Wilkinson and Company design and approval sequence. Mounted on cardstock and dated 15 June 1965 in manuscript below the proof image, this piece records the revised 50 Dollars form produced after the March design submission and April review stage. Its date places it in the same corrected June approval cycle as the 10 Dollars design proof, which carried the approved submission direction for the series. ... Read more →

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

Specimen of the 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque prepared for Thomas Cook and Son during the early 1920s, representing the finished specimen-stage form of one of the most recognizable private travel-payment instruments of the interwar period. Printed in a rich brown security design and marked with red specimen and cancellation wording, this cheque preserves the operational format used by Thomas Cook and Son for secure international travel finance after the First World War. The face design combines a strong Thomas Cook and Son title banner, large 5 Pounds denomination devices, dense guilloche patterning, a portrait vignette at the right, and a layered security background designed to convey institutional reliability and protect against alteration. ... Read more →