Collection PL

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Discovery AR Prefix with Red Overprint and Oval Stamp Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Discovery AR-prefix red-overprint specimen of the 50 Zlotych banknote from the 1994 Polish issue, bearing serial number AR0000000. The note carries a red diagonal SPECIMEN overprint, paired red oval NO VALUE stamps, round punch cancellations, and De La Rue specimen-control number 005. This AR-prefix form is unrecorded in Milczak and Pick and belongs to the same discovery-level production group as the related AR approval specimen. Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Discovery AR Prefix Perforated SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Discovery AR-prefix perforated specimen of the 50 Zlotych banknote from the 1994 Polish issue, bearing serial number AR0000000 and cancelled by the perforated inscription SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE. This AR-prefix form is unrecorded in Milczak and Pick and belongs to the same discovery-level production group as the related AR approval specimen and AR red-overprint specimen. Read more →

Italy 1871–1872 - Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire Specimen (Pick S976s)

Produced by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in London during the early stages of their European expansion, the engraving reflects a transitional moment in BWC’s development from commercial engravers into one of the world’s premier security printers. The deeply cut guilloches, vast empty margins, and sculptural allegory of Standing Italia exhibit a sophistication rarely seen on private Italian issues of the period. BWC’s design language of the 1870s-ornate, aspirational, and technically ambitious-foreshadows the company’s later dominance in colonial and European banknote engraving. As an artifact of design history alone, this note marks one of the earliest intersections between British engraving expertise and the newly unified Italian state. Read more →

New Zealand 1916-1920 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Red-Rose (Orange Lineage) with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S227s)

The specimen carries dual live serial prefixes (7/180001–7/220000), confirming its place within an active production range. The perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel prevented circulation, while the pencil annotation dated 29 September 1917 corresponds to the production record associated with the piece. PMG records this feature as Printer’s Annotation. Read more →

Australia 1905–1910 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Specimen Proof (Pick Unlisted)

As a proof with cancelled perforations, broad margins, and fully preserved plate detail, this example stands among the finest surviving artifacts of early-twentieth-century Australian paper money. Its PMG 63 EPQ Top Pop status further elevates it as a benchmark for scholars and advanced collectors studying the final private-bank issues of the Australian continent. Read more →

Mauritius 1839 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 20 Dollars / 4 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled Note (Pick S125)

This example is fully issued, hand-numbered, hand-signed, and subsequently stamped CANCELLED-direct evidence that it circulated in real commercial traffic before the bank redeemed it. Very few 1830s Mauritius notes of any denomination survive in issued and cancelled form. High denominations such as Twenty Dollars were primarily used by exporters, customs brokers, and merchants conducting large-volume trade in sugar, textiles, shipping freight, or bonded storage. These notes typically had short lifespans and were systematically destroyed upon redemption. Read more →

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

A perforated CANCELLED marking is applied across the lower central area, executed through pin-perforation rather than ink overprint, serving as the primary method of invalidation. At far left, a wide vertical audit margin remains visible, a characteristic feature of printer’s file copies retained for inspection and documentation. This margin, combined with the cancellation method, firmly places the note within Bradbury Wilkinson’s internal specimen retention system rather than external presentation formats. Read more →

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

The first Bank of New Zealand specimen and the foundation of the country’s pre-Reserve Bank note lineage. Engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company, Limited, London, this one pound green specimen (Pick S191s) established the visual architecture reused throughout all later BNZ issues: paired Māori figures at left, an engraved coastal vignette below, and an ornate duty-tint panel framing the ONE POUND denomination. This design became the structural and visual origin of the Bank of New Zealand color lineage that defined New Zealand’s early commercial-bank currency. Read more →

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

The presence of live production serial numbers with the letter prefix G clearly distinguishes this class from unnumbered file specimens. The perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel confirms archival invalidation of a fully completed, final-design note rather than a proof or presentation pull. Specimens of this type preserve the finished design together with the actual serial logic employed in production. Read more →

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

Numbered specimen from the G100001–G300000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Fully executed in final inks with live production numbering and perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel, identifying it as a printer-archive invalidation of a fully finished note rather than a proof or unfinished file copy. Read more →

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

Numbered specimen from the terminal E300001–E400000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Perforated SPECIMEN across the signature panel and preserved with wide selvage, this pull represents the final and rarest stage of BNZ £1 Red archival production. Read more →

Mauritius 1842 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled (Pick S122a)

Dated 2 August 1842, this note bears manuscript signatures, serial numbers, and the characteristic oval CANCELLED stamps applied upon redemption. The engraving by Myers Frs. & Co. depicts the busy Port Louis waterfront, with ships and warehouses illustrating Mauritius’s role as a maritime trading hub between Africa, India, and Europe. Read more →