Collection PL

China 1945 - Soviet Red Army Headquarters 100 Yuan Issued Note, Revalidated 1946 (Pick M36)

The obverse displays a dense engraved composition centered on the vertical denomination inscription, framed by elaborate scrollwork and repeated corner numerals. Serial numbers appear at the upper left and right, confirming standard issuance rather than experimental or proof status. The design emphasizes legibility, authority, and anti-counterfeiting complexity, consistent with emergency currency intended for immediate circulation under unstable political and economic conditions. Read more →

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

The obverse is executed in dense brown engraved line work, incorporating wave-pattern security engraving, dual ornamental SCRIP cartouches, and a recessed central denomination panel reading FIVE DOLLARS. The lower margin carries the serial number No. 0000 and is overprinted SPECIMEN, confirming its status as a non-circulating printer-issued reference piece. The reverse is dominated by a large, highly complex radial guilloche medallion, reflecting professional security printing standards consistent with established banknote production rather than improvised emergency printing. Read more →

Luxembourg 1982 - 20 Francs Specimen Unissued Series (Pick 54As)

Within Luxembourg's monetary history, this specimen forms part of an emergency issue prepared in 1982 following the devaluation of the Belgian franc. Luxembourg and Belgium were linked through the Belgian-Luxembourg monetary arrangement, and the currency crisis prompted Luxembourg to prepare its own banknotes for possible use. The program progressed well beyond the design stage: proofs, finalized specimens and even signed, normally numbered notes are known. The issue was ultimately not required and was never placed into circulation, leaving the surviving material as evidence of an emergency currency program that came remarkably close to issuance. Read more →

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

The importance of this note lies in the second, reverse-side overprint. The face stamp alone identified a note as part of the 1912 state emission, but the reverse validation added a further administrative layer. It showed that the note had not merely been converted from old Banco de la República stock into emergency state currency, but had also passed through Treasury supervision under the Departamento de Hacienda and the Junta Fiscalizadora. That second mark connected the note to fiscal inspection, public-account control, and the official decree of 20 May 1912. Read more →

Paraguay 1907 - Banco de la República 5 Pesos with 1912 State Overprint (Pick 127, Base Pick 156)

The overprint marks a decisive administrative transformation. The original note began as a Banco de la República obligation issued under the 1907 monetary framework. In 1912, during a period of political disorder, fiscal instability, and urgent demand for usable circulating paper, the Paraguayan state repurposed existing banknote stocks rather than waiting for a completely new issue. The oval “Emisión del Estado” overprint announced that this older banknote had been accepted into the emergency currency system and was now recognized as a state-authorized obligation. Read more →