Collection PL

Australia 1880-1889 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited £5 with Serial Prefix SPECIMEN (Pick Unlisted, MVR4a)

A printer-issued £5 SPECIMEN prepared by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, dating to the late 1880s production window (ND 1880–1889), and bearing live serial numbers rather than zero or placeholder prefixes. This piece represents an internal control or approval specimen drawn from a numbered production sequence, distinct from margin-heavy proof impressions or display specimens. Read more →

New Zealand 1895–1915 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Specimen (Pick S192s)

Surviving examples of the S192s specimen type remain extremely scarce, with most archival copies destroyed or lost during transitions in banking structure and currency authority. Positioned between the one pound green (Pick S191s) and the ten pounds brown (Pick S193s), this five pounds orange specimen completes the central triad of New Zealand’s most important pre-Reserve Bank engraved series, representing both artistic and technical maturity within early banknote production. Read more →

New Zealand 1870–1890 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Green Specimen (Pick S191s)

As a specimen combining dual control serials, Bradbury Wilkinson specimen perforation, retained audit margin, and full original design structure, this example represents a complete and highly informative record of Bradbury Wilkinson’s early production and verification methodology. It is not merely a denomination note but a working document of the printing process itself, preserving multiple layers of operational and historical evidence. Read more →

New Zealand 1905-1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red with Serial Number Prefix G000001-G100000 Cancelled Perforation Specimen (Pick S212bs)

The G000001–G100000 range functioned as the opening control block within a structured multi-block printing order. Archival evidence indicates continuation with G100001–G300000, followed by an alphabetical transition to E300001–E400000. The pencilled annotation dated 19 January 1915 on the selvage aligns with Bradbury Wilkinson internal press-balance markings and confirms late–World War I handling of this material. Read more →

New Zealand 1905-1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red with Serial Number Prefix G100001-G300000 Cancelled Perforation Specimen (Pick S212bs)

The red duty tint marks the final chromatic stage of the BNZ private-issue lineage. With extremely limited survival and no institutional duplicates known, this mid-block specimen is properly classified as R8 Extremely Rare. Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix E300001–E400000 (Pick S212bs)

As the final documented prefix block of the BNZ £1 Red series, this specimen represents the end of New Zealand’s private-banknote era and is properly classified as R8 Extremely Rare. Read more →

New Zealand 1924-1925 - Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings with SPECIMEN Perforation Front Proof (Pick S231p1)

Front proofs such as this were retained in the printer’s reference archives and used to verify color registration, alignment, and micro-engraving before full production. The intact margins and deep relief impression make this piece an ideal teaching reference for plate-making and tint-stone layering techniques used by BWC during the interwar modernization of New Zealand’s private-issue currency. It stands as an educational artifact bridging colonial design tradition and the technical precision that would define later Reserve Bank series. Read more →

Argentina 1871 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 10 Pesos Rosario No. 000001 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This specimen represents an archival control note of the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 10 Pesos issue prepared for the Rosario branch, dated Rosario, 10 de Noviembre de 1871, and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London. It was produced as part of the bank internal authorization and registration process for provincial issues and was never intended for circulation. Read more →

Argentina 1884 - El Banco del Chaco 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro Serial 05056 (Pick S1566)

Partial issued note of El Banco del Chaco’s 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro, dated 1 Octubre 1884 and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, for the Villa Ocampo branch under the Ley de Bancos Garantidos provincial charter. The vignette centers on an allegory of Agriculture symbolizing prosperity and labor, flanked by a dog and bull for loyalty and strength-one of BWC’s finest small-format engravings for South America. Read more →

Argentina 1884 - El Banco del Chaco 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro Serial 15849 (Pick S1566)

Issued provincial note from El Banco del Chaco, Villa Ocampo branch, dated 1 Octubre 1884, printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, under Argentina’s Ley de Bancos Garantidos system. Hand-signed, Series I, serial 15849. The allegorical female personifies Agriculture, flanked by a dog and bull symbolizing loyalty, vigilance, and strength. BWC’s London plates combine intaglio portraiture with delicate micro-lathe patterns, equal in finesse to any contemporary British colonial issue. Read more →

Uruguay 1862 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 100 Pesos Specimen (Pick S245s)

Engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in London, the note reflects the firm’s first major commission for the Rio de la Plata area. The allegorical vignettes-Mercury representing trade and Agriculture symbolizing prosperity-conveyed both British confidence and local ambition. Dense guilloché fields, lathe-turned borders, and watermarked paper illustrate BWC’s early transition from hand-engraved dies to mechanical precision engraving, a security standard that shaped modern banknote production. Read more →

Bolivia 1904 - Banco Nacional 5 Bolivianos Specimen (Pick S2143s)

Specimen of the 1904 Banco Nacional de Bolivia 5 Bolivianos, engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. (BWC) in London. The note bears the date SUCRE, 1 de Enero de 1904, and features the portrait of Simón Bolívar at center-an enduring symbol of republican legitimacy. The engraving itself traces back to a mid-19th-century French lithograph of Bolívar that was reused and refined by BWC for several Latin American issues, earning it the nickname 'the export Bolívar.' Surrounding design elements include elaborate guilloché frames, floral counters, and a small vignette of Potosí’s Cerro Rico, underscoring the country’s reliance on silver mining wealth. Read more →