Collection PL

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

One of the earliest surviving issued notes of the Mauritius Commercial Bank—the oldest banking institution in the Indian Ocean—this 1839 Twenty Dollar / Four Pounds Sterling note is a foundational artifact of Mauritian monetary history. Issued only one year after the bank’s founding in 1838, it belongs to the first generation of fully functional colonial paper money used on the island. These early issues circulated at a time when coin shortages were severe, and private banknotes became the primary medium of exchange for merchants, plantation owners, and shipping houses. ... Read more →

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

A fully issued, hand-signed, and dated Mauritius Commercial Bank note — one of the earliest known examples of circulating paper money from the island. 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. ... 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. ... Read more →

Argentina 1866 — Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 1 Real Rosario Type A (Printed Signature) PS1731 · Bauman SFE 70

Early circulating bank vale issued by the Rosario branch of the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, dated Rosario, 15 de Setiembre de 1866. The note promises payment at sight of one Real in Plata Boliviana, reflecting the silver standard widely used in regional trade across the Rio de la Plata basin and the interior provinces of Argentina during the mid-nineteenth century. The Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, founded in London in 1862, represented one of the first large foreign banking institutions operating in the Southern Cone. ... Read more →

Argentina 1866 — Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 1 Real Rosario Type B (Hand-Signed) PS1731 · Bauman SFE 70

Issued fractional bank vale of the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata dated Rosario, 15 de Setiembre de 1866. The note promises payment at sight of one Real in Plata Boliviana and belongs to the earliest circulation phase of British-controlled private banking activity in Argentina. Founded in London in 1862, the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata rapidly became one of the most influential foreign financial institutions operating in the Rio de la Plata region. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1870 — Republica Oriental del Uruguay 1 Peso, Junta de Credito Publico (Signed Ruy / West, Serial 017385)

Earliest emission of the Junta de Credito Publico, dated 4 de Mayo de 1870, representing Uruguay’s first nationally guaranteed paper currency after the financial reform law of the same date. Printed locally in Montevideo by Litografía G. Mas & Cía., the note carries the denomination of 1 Peso, its face tinted green and engraved in fine local intaglio style. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1870 — Republica Oriental del Uruguay 1 Peso, Junta de Credito Publico (Illegible Signature Variant, Serial 710157)

Dated 4 de Mayo de 1870, this 1 Peso note represents the same first national issue of the Junta de Credito Publico but bearing a different handwritten signature type, executed by another board member whose autograph remains partially illegible due to cancellation and ink staining. The printing is identical to the 'Ruy / West' variety, featuring Mercury seated left, Uruguay’s arms top center, and the text 'Ley de 4 de Mayo de 1870'. The green paper stock and scalloped margin are characteristic of local lithography by G. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1887 — Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 20 Centesimos Issued Note Serial A029393 (Pick A88a)

This 20 Centesimos note was issued by the Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay under the monetary framework established on 25 de Agosto de 1887, during a formative period in the consolidation of Uruguay’s national banking authority. Printed in London by Waterlow & Sons, it represents the earliest hand-signed emission phase of the type and corresponds to Pick A88a. The Banco Nacional operated as a principal instrument of monetary stabilization in late nineteenth-century Uruguay, issuing notes convertible into metallic reserves within a structured commercial banking system. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1887 — Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 20 Centesimos Issued Note Serial A053441 (Pick A88a)

This 20 Centesimos note was issued by the Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay under the monetary framework dated 25 de Agosto de 1887, during a period of structured national banking consolidation. Printed in London by Waterlow and Sons, it belongs to the hand-signed emission classified as Pick A88a and reflects the established production phase prior to mechanized signature adoption. Within the 1887 emission hierarchy, the 20 Centesimos denomination functioned as the fractional transactional unit of the series, circulating widely in daily commerce while retaining full engraved security standards. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1887 — Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 20 Centesimos Issued Note Serial K078922 (Pick A88c)

This 20 Centesimos note was issued by the Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay under the monetary framework dated 25 de Agosto de 1887, during a phase of institutional consolidation and expanding note production. Printed in London by Waterlow and Sons, this example represents the mechanically signed emission classified as Pick A88c, marking a technical evolution within the same engraved design series. The Banco Nacional functioned as a principal national banking authority in late nineteenth century Uruguay, issuing notes convertible within a metallic-based monetary structure. ... Read more →

Confederate States of America 1864 – 100 Dollars Pink Underprint Richmond (T-65 CR-121)

The one-hundred-dollar note of the February 17, 1864 Confederate issue, cataloged as T-65 (Criswell 121), was the highest denomination of the Confederacy’s final paper-money series. Printed by Keatinge & Ball in Columbia, South Carolina, this design became one of the most recognizable icons of Confederate finance during the final year of the Civil War. The central vignette features an allegorical female portrait often associated with Lucy Pickens of South Carolina. ... Read more →

United States 1902 – 20 Dollars Large Size Plain Back National Bank Note – The First National Bank of Taylorville, Illinois Charter 3579 (Fr.650-652)

Large-size 1902 Plain Back twenty from The First National Bank of Taylorville, Illinois, Charter 3579, a seldom-seen issuer that entered receivership on October 18, 1929 at the very start of the small-size era. Organized and chartered in October 1886, the bank operated for more than four decades, but its total national-currency output was modest for an Illinois institution and survivorship today is extremely thin. Face design shows Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch at left, blue charter numerals 3579, and the classic U.S. ... Read more →