Collection PL

Sweden 1785 - Stockholm Spinnhus Pollett System – Complete Nine-Denomination Institutional Currency Set:One Half Öre to One Daler (Pick Unlisted)

This complete nine-note ensemble represents the entire internal monetary system of Stockholm’s Spinnhus, the women’s correctional institution and workhouse operating on Långholmen Island during the late eighteenth century. Produced circa 1785, these engraved pollett notes functioned as closed-economy institutional currency, issued exclusively for use within the prison environment. They served as a controlled medium of exchange through which inmates were compensated for labor, particularly the spinning and processing of flax and wool. Internally, the notes operated as proto-fiat currency, enabling regulated transactions, discipline, and subsistence within a self-contained penal micro-economy. Read more →

Great Britain c.1806–1812 - Derby Bank £5 Proof (Pick Unlisted)

A printer’s proof of a £5 note prepared for the Derby Bank during the formative years of British provincial banking, dating to circa 1806–1812. This piece belongs to the critical transitional period between eighteenth-century handwritten credit instruments and the fully industrialized, security-driven banknote production that would dominate the nineteenth century. Read more →

Austria 1800 - Wiener Stadt Banco 1 Gulden Issued Note (Pick A29a)

An issued 1 Gulden Banco-Zettel dated 1800 from the Wiener Stadt Banco, catalogued as Pick A29a. This denomination represents the foundation level of Austria’s first large-scale fiduciary paper money system, introduced in 1796 to stabilize state finances during prolonged military conflict and fiscal strain at the end of the eighteenth century. Read more →

Austria 1800 - Wiener Stadt Banco 5 Gulden Issued Note (Pick A33)

The 5 Gulden note of 1800, issued by the Wiener Stadt Banco, occupies a pivotal position within Austria’s early fiduciary paper money system known as Banco-Zettel. Introduced in 1796, this system marked the Habsburg Monarchy’s first sustained attempt to replace metallic circulation with state-backed paper currency, driven by the severe fiscal pressures of continuous warfare and structural budget deficits at the end of the eighteenth century. 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 →

Japan 1800 - Edo Period 5 Momme Silver Hansatsu with Daikokuten Reverse and Oil Merchant Validation Seal Woodblock Printed on Handmade Washi Paper

This hansatsu belongs to the final pre-modern monetary landscape before the Meiji reforms of the nineteenth century. In the 1870s, Japan abolished the old domain currencies and moved toward a centralized national money system. Surviving notes like this preserve the older world that came before: a world where paper money could be a silver certificate, a merchant instrument, a religiously charged object, and a regional promise of value all at the same time. Read more →

Portugal 1799 - Real Erario 20000 Reis Apólice, Original Issue, No Overprint, Lisboa No. 37723

Issued in Lisboa in 1799 under the authority of the Real Erario, this 20,000-reis apolice is a Portuguese royal-era public debt instrument payable to bearer. It represents state-backed debt from a period of administrative continuity in late eighteenth-century Portugal, before the political and fiscal disruptions of the nineteenth century. Read more →

Italy 1781 - Regie Finanze di Torino 5 Scudi Front Proof Sheet (Pick Unlisted)

The Regie Finanze di Torino served as the central fiscal authority of the Savoyard state, overseeing taxation, state credit, and the issuance of paper instruments during the late eighteenth century. The introduction of paper money during this period marked a decisive institutional development, reflecting the state’s effort to formalize credit issuance beyond reliance on metallic reserves. Read more →

Italy 1745 - Regie Finanze di Torino - 100 Lire Back Proof, Pre-Date Control State (Pick Unlisted)

The engraved design is concentrated in the upper portion of the sheet. A double denomination cartouche marked 100 appears near the upper border. Below it, the central device consists of a Savoyard cross within a wreath-like enclosure, engraved with dense linear detail and surrounded by scrollwork that integrates into the lower border. At the right, a stacked calligraphic authority block is fully engraved, reading Maestro Auditore, Maestro Auditore, Tesoriere generale, and Controllore della Tesoreria, aligned vertically within the frame. Read more →

Italy 1746 - Regie Finanze di Torino - 100 Lire Back Proof, Fixed-Date Control State (Pick Unlisted)

The engraving exhibits consistent line depth and sharply articulated lettering throughout, with fully populated ornamental borders, scrolls, and text fields in this state. The presence of the engraved date and complete legal text distinguishes this control state from earlier undated framework impressions. Read more →

Italy 1765 - Regie Finanze di Torino - 100 Lire Front Proof, Final Face State (Pick Unlisted)

The upper text field carries the denomination and obligation wording beginning with Per il Capitale di lire cento, followed by the dated line Torino il p. Gen. 1765. Beneath this appear engraved signature titles arranged in vertical alignment, including Maestro Auditore, Maestro Auditore, Tesoriere generale, and Controllore della Tesoreria, with ruled signature lines left blank. Read more →