Collection PL

Italy 1871 - Germania with Shield and Spear Vignette Die Proof Used on 500 Lire (Pick PS977)

Vignette proofs such as this were printed directly from the engraved steel die during the approval phase of banknote production. At this stage the printer and issuing bank evaluated the engraving quality, tonal balance, and compositional stability of the central image before transferring the design to working printing plates. Because the proof is taken directly from the die, it preserves the engraving in its pure form, without color layers, guilloche backgrounds, or additional plate elements that would appear in the completed banknote. Read more →

United States 1830s - Pennsylvania, Philadelphia - Penn Township Savings Institution 10 Cents Proof (Unlisted)

An important line printed across the top reads 'Real Estate pledged to the Holder,' indicating that deposits were secured by mortgage-backed assets. This was typical of early American savings banks, which invested depositor funds in real estate loans and advertised that collateral publicly to reassure small savers of the institution’s solvency. Read more →

Mexico 1915 - Ayuntamiento de Zitácuaro 10 Centavos Uncut Sheet of Four M2952c (Pick Unlisted)

As an artifact, the sheet illustrates how local authorities temporarily replaced national currency systems with municipal credit instruments backed by civic authority and local trust. It stands as a rare surviving witness to the decentralized monetary practices that emerged across Mexico during the upheaval of the revolution. Read more →

Poland 1988 - 50 Zlotych Prefix HK Missing Signatures Date Print Error Issued Note (Pick 142c)

Production of these notes involved multiple sequential printing stages. First a multicolor offset background and security pattern were applied, followed by intaglio engraving for the portrait and main denomination elements. Serial numbers were then printed in red, after which a separate typographic pass added the date line and official signatures. The present error indicates that the sheet either skipped the final typographic stage or passed through the press with an uninked plate, leaving the signature panel blank while all other printing layers remain complete. Read more →

Poland 1988 - 50 Zlotych Prefix HK Issued Note (Pick 142c)

Production of the note involved multiple printing stages typical of late twentieth-century security printing at PWPW. A multicolor offset background established the geometric security pattern across the note, followed by intaglio engraving for the portrait and denomination elements. Serial numbers were applied in red ink in a later pass, while the final typographic stage added the date and the printed signatures of the issuing officials. Read more →

Canada 1896 - Bank of Nova Scotia 20 Dollars Front and Back Proofs (Pick Unlisted)

Matched front and back proof pair of the 20 Dollars banknote issued by The Bank of Nova Scotia of Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated 22 July 1896. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York, the pair documents the approval stage of one of the most elaborate chartered banknote designs produced in Canada during the late nineteenth century. Read more →

France 1792 - Domaines Nationaux Assignat 15 Sols Série 1808 (Pick A54)

Early small‑denomination assignat dated to the constitutional monarchy’s final months-'Loi du 4 Janvier 1792' and 'L’An Quatrième de la Liberté' appear in the header cartouches. Printed for the Domaines Nationaux program, these 15‑sol notes bridged everyday commerce and the land‑backed credit scheme that financed the Revolution. Read more →

Scotland 1956 - The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 With Engraver's Name on Back (Pick 324b)

Royal Bank of Scotland One Pound of the 1956–64 series, variety with the engraver's imprint on back as cited by PMG. The face carries the bank's crowned arms and the long‑standing central medallion portrait associated with the institution since the eighteenth century, surrounded by a dense field of micro‑lettered Royal Bank of Scotland repeats. Read more →

Scotland 1967 - British Linen Bank £1 Specimen Sorting Lines on Back (Pick 168s)

PMG notes Sorting Lines on Back, the vertical coding lines adopted in the late 1960s to facilitate mechanical bank sorting. Specimens like this documented production features for institutional archives and do not represent circulation pieces. Read more →

Ireland - Northern 1977 - Bank of Ireland Limited £1 Specimen PR101 (Pick 247as)

This PR101 variety is part of the modern polymer‑era ancestor set of Northern Irish paper £1 notes, showing the move to brighter inks and machine‑readable layout while retaining heraldic panels and microlettered backgrounds. Read more →

United States ca. 1970s – Giori Test Note – Jefferson Center, Black Front / Greenback Inverted Experimental Serial With Watermark

Test notes like this were never issued and were meant to be destroyed after technical analysis. A few survive from retained BEP archives or printer training files. This black-front, green-back variety with inverted red serial and visible watermark is among the most distinctive combinations from the Giori series. Read more →

United States 1872 – State of South Carolina $20 Revenue Bond Scrip Act of March 2 1872 Columbia Issue

The central vignette portrays Liberty presenting a laurel to an allegorical figure of South Carolina while a sailor and ship in the background evoke commerce and maritime trade. The state seal appears prominently in the center with the Latin motto 'Animis Opibusque Parati'-Prepared in Mind and Resources-encircled by flourishes of oak, palm, and rice. The numeral '20' is printed multiple times in both black and green, enhanced by a large green protector overprint, while the serial number '2583' appears in red. In the lower left, the bold Roman 'XX' denomination rests within a guilloche medallion, and to the right, an engraved portrait of a woman reading reinforces the domestic virtues that Reconstruction propaganda sought to associate with recovery and stability. Read more →