Collection PL

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

An exceptional and academically important survival from the experimental phase of Italy’s early post-unification banking era, this 250 Lire specimen from the short-lived Banca Italo-Germanica, cataloged as Pick S976s, represents one of the rarest and most ambitious private note-issuing projects attempted in Rome during the 1870s. No issued examples of this type are known to exist, and all scholarship indicates that the bank’s banknote program collapsed before any notes entered circulation, leaving only a microscopic number of presentation pulls, proofs, or internal printer’s archive sheets. This PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated example is the sole graded specimen in the PMG census, making it both Top Pop and Only Pop. Read more →

Libya 1971 - Central Bank of Libya 10 Dinars Specimen (Omar al-Mukhtar Portrait, Pick 37s)

This specimen captures the precise point at which the engraving, underprint palette, and security architecture were formally locked for production. The portrait of Omar al-Mukhtar-engraved with deep-bite intaglio and dense cross-hatching-is fully integrated with the surrounding guilloche network and multitone background fields. Unlike earlier color trials or vignette proofs, no experimental elements remain; all visual and technical decisions have been finalized. Read more →

Luxembourg 1982 - 1000 Francs Color Trial Specimen Grand Duchess Charlotte (Pick 52bcts)

Color trial specimen of the 1982 one thousand francs issue of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, representing the experimental color phase of the highest denomination prepared within this contingency series. As the top denomination, the 1000 Francs carries the full complexity of the design system, and in color trial form, it exposes the decision layer behind the final adopted palette. Read more →

Poland 1926 - Bank Polski 10 Zlotych Archival Watermarked Paper (Miłczak 64)

This undated '10 ZŁ' watermark became the standard form for circulation and differs from the much rarer experimental '992–1025' dated watermark used on Pick 65br remainders. The plain watermarked paper such as this is considered an intermediate stage between the 1926 trial materials and the fully issued 1929 Pick 69 notes, which adopted the same watermark in mass production. Read more →

United States ca. 1970s – Giori Test Note – Jefferson Center, Black Front / Greenback Inverted Experimental Serial With Watermark

Experimental intaglio test note printed around the 1970s by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the Giori multicolor press system. Named for engineer Giovanni Giori, these sheets were used to evaluate multi-plate registration, color density, and press alignment on machinery that would later define modern currency production. The design known as the Jefferson Center joins engraved portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Ulysses S. Grant beneath a partial UNITED STATES OF AMERICA banner serving as a calibration reference. Read more →

United States ca. 1970s – C.O.P.E. Experimental Test Note Serial A82432955A

Blank-format experimental note printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing during the 1970s as part of internal testing for the C.O.P.E. (Currency Overprinting and Processing Equipment) program. This machinery represented a major modernization step in U.S. currency production, automating serial numbering, seal application, and sheet cutting for the first time on a fully integrated system. Read more →

Egypt 1907 - First Issue Revenues 1 & 2 Milliemes Tied on Official Document

These two adhesives belong to the very first adhesive revenue issue ever used in Egypt. Before this period, all fiscal charges were paid on pre-embossed stamped paper; the introduction of gummed revenue stamps marked the start of a completely new system. Only the 1m and 2m values were produced during this initial experimental rollout, reflecting a short-lived transitional phase with inherently limited printing and distribution. Because early offices routinely discarded or destroyed processed paperwork, full documents from this first generation-especially those retaining multiple values used together as originally intended-survive at extremely low rates. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte Specimen (Pick S1880s)

Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company’s involvement documents the early penetration of British security printing into Argentina’s interior provinces. While later national issues would dominate the historical record, provincial banknotes such as this one represent the experimental and transitional phase of Argentine monetary development, when regional institutions exercised near-sovereign authority over credit and currency. Read more →

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 →

New Zealand 1975 - 1 Dollar Knight Signature Replacement Star Note Serial Y91304453* (Pick 163c*)

Within the Knight signature period, this replacement note represents a mature phase of New Zealand’s decimal currency history, when the system introduced in 1967 was no longer experimental or transitional but fully established. By this stage, design continuity, print discipline, and replacement procedures had all become standardized parts of production. A star note such as this preserves evidence of that system operating as intended, revealing that even in an efficient and settled printing environment, spoilage and substitution remained an integral part of the process. Read more →

Luxembourg 1966 - 20 Francs Issued Note (Pick 54a)

Within the broader Luxembourg sequence, the 1966 twenty francs serves as the operational foundation from which later developments evolved. The structural clarity, portrait treatment, and engraving discipline established here carried directly into the 1970 series and ultimately informed the unissued 1982 emergency designs. It stands as the functional counterpart to those archival and experimental pieces, demonstrating how the system performed under real circulation conditions. Read more →

Luxembourg 1966 - 20 Francs Color Trial Specimen (Pick 54cts)

The obverse displays Grand Duke Jean in formal military attire, rendered in finely controlled intaglio and surrounded by complex multicolor guilloche structures. Unlike the issued format, this trial emphasizes a more experimental palette, allowing printers to evaluate contrast between portrait, denomination, and background security elements under varying lighting and handling conditions. The interplay of color layers demonstrates how visual hierarchy was refined before standardization. Read more →