Collection

Argentina 1876 — Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte (Specimen)

Specimen printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. for the Banco de San Juan during Argentina’s expansion of provincially chartered banks in the 1870s. The 1 Peso Fuerte design reflects the distinct artistic language of the early British engravers active in Latin America, with refined lathe-work borders and a central condor vignette symbolizing vigilance and freedom. ... Read more →

Argentina 1876 — Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes (Specimen)

Companion specimen to the 1 Peso Fuerte, engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. for the Banco de San Juan. The 5 Pesos Fuertes note expands the artistic program with allegorical vignettes of Liberty, the national arms of Argentina, and native fauna—each rendered with the precision that defined Bradbury Wilkinson’s London workshop during the golden age of steel engraving. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1862 — 100 Pesos (Specimen)

This perforated specimen of the 1862 100 Pesos note was issued for the Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata, one of the earliest private commercial banks to operate in Uruguay and the wider River Plate region. Established in Buenos Aires in 1862 with a Montevideo branch soon after, the Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata became a pivotal institution linking South American trade with British capital, serving as a correspondent for international merchants and handling customs, shipping, and railway finance. Engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1872 — 100 Pesos = 10 Doblones (Specimen)

Archival specimen of the 1872 issue of the Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata, denominated 100 Pesos Nacionales with an explicit equivalence to 10 Doblones in gold. This dual denomination was highly unusual in Latin American numismatics, serving as both a circulating promise and a political declaration of Uruguay’s attempt to stabilize paper currency by anchoring it to a fixed gold standard. The experiment was short-lived: by the late 1870s the peso–doblón equivalence had collapsed, making surviving notes a tangible record of one of Uruguay’s boldest but least sustainable monetary policies. ... Read more →

Luxembourg ND (1982) — 1000 Francs (Specimen, Pick 52Bs)

Specimen from Luxembourg’s cancelled 1982 emergency issue, the country’s most ambitious independent printing project of the 20th century. Technically it represents Bradbury Wilkinson & Co.’s final generation of deep-relief intaglio portraiture—Grand Duchess Charlotte rendered in a style already vanishing from European currency as photolithographic techniques took over. The 1000 Francs carried an exquisite guilloche architecture, tonal cross-hatching, and watermark placement calculated for mechanized verification rather than hand inspection. ... Read more →

Luxembourg ND (1982) — 1000 Francs (Color Trial Specimen, Pick 52Bcts)

Color-trial specimen for the unissued 1000 Francs, pulled at Bradbury Wilkinson to test pigment balance and optical contrast before final approval. Each pass adjusted violet and green tones to preserve the Duchess’s facial relief while maintaining anti-counterfeit micro-contrast within the guilloches. The note demonstrates how intaglio depth interacts with multi-stone offset when the printer seeks harmony rather than dominance. ... Read more →

Luxembourg ND (1982) — 1000 Francs (Proof, Pick 52Bp)

Large-margined plate proof of the unissued 1000 Francs, capturing Bradbury Wilkinson’s line work before color separation. On thick archival stock, the engraving reads like a topographic map—each ridge a micro-decision of burin pressure. PMG 55 EPQ Top Pop 1/1. ... Read more →

Luxembourg ND (1982) — 500 Francs (Specimen, Pick 52As)

Specimen from the same unreleased 1982 emergency series, a mid-denomination companion to the 1000 Francs. Technically, it showcases Bradbury Wilkinson’s mastery in translating classical portraiture into secure banknote design: deep-bite intaglio with an even ink film, perfectly registered with offset underprint that keeps micro-lines open at every pressure setting. PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated. ... Read more →

Luxembourg ND (1982) — 500 Francs (Proof, Pick 52Ap)

Engraver’s proof for the 500 Francs of 1982, wide-margined and printed on heavy archival paper to expose every nuance of line weight before color overlays. Under magnification the burin work shows the transitional style of late BWC engraving—mechanically assisted but still hand-finished. PMG 66 EPQ Top Pop 1/1. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1862 — 100 Pesos (Remainder)

Few notes capture the working side of 19th-century banknote production like this 1862 100 Pesos remainder. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. for the Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata but never signed or issued, it remains an untouched example of Uruguay’s first major British-engraved currency design. ... Read more →