Collection PL

Egypt 1918 - Banque Belge pour l’Étranger, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

Original cheque issued by the Cairo branch of Banque Belge pour l'Étranger on 2 September 1918, produced during the final phase of the First World War. The form is printed on light cream security stock with a richly engraved Art Nouveau header. Along the left margin runs a vertical ornamental cartouche enclosing the bank’s interlocking monogram and the legend BANQUE BELGE POUR L'ÉTRANGER – LE CAIRE, framed by a list of the bank’s principal branches in BRUXELLES, LONDRES, ROTTERDAM, LE CAIRE, ALEXANDRIE, SHANGHAI, PEKIN and TIENTSIN. ... Read more →

Egypt 1901 - Philibin & Vve. Barrot, Cairo Hardware Merchants (Art Nouveau Letterhead Invoice)

Original 1901 illustrated invoice from Philibin & Vve. Barrot, the prominent Cairo ironmongery and hardware firm founded in 1871. The masthead is printed in a pale blue-grey Art Nouveau style, featuring an ornamental banner with PHILIBIN & Vve. ... Read more →

Egypt 1912 - Compagnie des Bateaux Omnibus (Nile Steamer Illustrated Letterhead)

Original 17 October 1912 illustrated letterhead of the Compagnie des Bateaux Omnibus, printed on pale beige laid paper with a finely executed lithographed masthead. At the upper left is a detailed vignette showing a Nile side-wheeler steamer underway, flying the red company pennant marked C.B.O. The steamer is depicted passing a palm-lined bank with mooring post and faint pyramidal silhouettes in the background, capturing one of the most iconic motifs of early twentieth-century Egyptian river transport. ... Read more →

United States 1933 - Any City, U.S.A. 5 Dollars City and County Scrip Specimen (Generic Municipal Master Form)

This specimen represents a generic City and County municipal scrip master form, dated Series of 1933 and denominated Five Dollars, produced during the most acute phase of the Great Depression. Explicitly designated for use by ANY CITY, U.S.A., the instrument was not issued by a specific municipality but instead functioned as a standardized template intended for rapid adoption by multiple cities and counties facing severe liquidity collapse. During the banking crisis of 1933, municipalities across the United States encountered simultaneous failures of cash circulation, delayed tax receipts, and restricted access to credit markets. ... Read more →

United States 1933 - New Jersey 5 Dollars Borough of Palmyra Municipal Scrip Specimen (General Obligation)

This specimen represents an official municipal scrip issued by the Borough of Palmyra, Burlington County, New Jersey, Series of 1933, and denominated Five Dollars. It originates from the most acute phase of the Great Depression, when local governments faced severe liquidity shortages and were compelled to issue interest-bearing scrip to meet ordinary municipal obligations in the absence of sufficient circulating cash. Municipal scrip functioned as a direct acknowledgment of indebtedness by the issuing authority, intended for local circulation or settlement rather than long-term financing. ... Read more →

South Africa 1828 - Cape of Good Hope Bank 5 Shillings Pre-Issue Sample (Pick S171p)

This note represents a pre-issue sample of the Cape of Good Hope Bank five shillings denomination, produced in the late 1820s during the formative period of private banking in the Cape Colony, well before the bank was formally authorized to commence operations. It predates all circulating issues of the institution and belongs to the earliest documentary layer of South African private-bank paper money. The Cape of Good Hope Bank occupies a unique position in South African monetary history. ... 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. The Montagu Bank was established in 1861 at a time when local banking was widely regarded as essential to trade and economic development within the Cape Colony. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1939 - Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 50 Centesimos Issued Note Serie H (Pick 34)

This fifty Centesimos note was issued by the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay under the monetary law of 2 January 1939, forming part of the comprehensive currency reform that standardized Uruguay’s interwar paper money system. Unlike the higher peso denominations of the same year, this fractional denomination is documented exclusively as an issued circulation note. No specimen format is known for the type, underscoring its strictly functional monetary role. ... Read more →

Luxembourg 1972 - 50 Francs Signature A, Issued Note (Pick 55a)

Issued fifty francs note of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg dated 1972, representing the Signature A configuration as cataloged under Pick 55a. This note belongs to the finalized circulating series featuring Grand Duke Jean and reflects the fully executed design following earlier proof and specimen stages. The obverse presents a detailed engraved portrait of Grand Duke Jean, integrated within a complex multicolor guilloche field composed of interwoven geometric patterns in green, orange, and brown tones. ... Read more →

Luxembourg 1972 - 50 Francs Signature B, Issued Note (Pick 55b)

Issued fifty francs note of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg dated 1972, representing the Signature B configuration as cataloged under Pick 55b. This variant forms the second signature type within the final circulating series and is distinguished by a change in the left-side issuing authority signature while retaining continuity in the right-side ministerial signature. The obverse features the engraved portrait of Grand Duke Jean, positioned within an intricate multicolor guilloche structure composed of layered geometric forms in green, orange, and brown tones. ... Read more →

Paraguay 1907 - Banco de la República 5 Pesos with 1912 Dual-Side State and Treasury Revalidation Overprint (Pick Unlisted, Base Pick 156)

Uncirculated 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos note, printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, and later transformed by the 1912 Paraguayan emergency revalidation process. The note is based on the original 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos issue, cataloged as Pick 156, but this dual-side state and Treasury validation format appears to stand outside the standard catalog listing and is therefore best treated as Pick Unlisted, base Pick 156. The face carries the large oval state overprint “Emisión del Estado – Ley de 11 de Enero de 1912,” while the reverse bears the additional Treasury validation “Departamento de Hacienda – Junta Fiscalizadora – Cincuenta Centavos Oro Sellado – Conforme Decreto de 20 de Mayo 1912.” This dual-side structure places the note among the most historically informative forms of Paraguay’s 1912 provisional paper money. ... 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 →