Collection PL

North Macedonia 2003 - 500 Denari (Issued, Pick 21a) DA8148021 Golden Death Mask

The 500 Denari banknote dated January 2003 represents a continuation printing of the denomination within the banknote program of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. While maintaining the established design introduced in the 1996 series, the 2003 issue reflects a later production batch prepared by Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited in London, preserving the same national imagery while refining color balance and background guilloche structures. At the center of the design remains the Golden Mask motif derived from the funerary mask discovered at the archaeological site of Trebeništa near Ohrid, dating to the 6th century BCE. ... Read more →

Poland 1988 — 50 Złotych Prefix HK Issued Note (Pick 142c)

The 50 Złotych banknote dated 'Warszawa, 1 Grudnia 1988' represents one of the final circulating issues of the Polish People's Republic before the monetary and political transformations of the early 1990s. Printed by Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych in Warsaw for the Narodowy Bank Polski, the denomination formed part of the 1986–1988 modernization of the circulating banknote series. The obverse presents the portrait of General Karol Świerczewski, a military figure associated with the communist period of Polish history. ... Read more →

Poland 1994 — 50 Zlotych Serial HC7367738 PMG 70 EPQ Star, Top Pop (Pick 175a)

Definitive circulation note of the 1994 issue (ND 1995) depicting King Kazimierz III Wielki. Catalogued as Pick 175a and CM#198a‑b, this type inaugurated the modern post‑redenomination design language for Narodowy Bank Polski, with intricate guilloches, latent images, microtext, and a crowned‑eagle watermark derived from the state arms. This certified example is graded PMG 70 EPQ ★, the highest grade assigned for the type and a Top Pop. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1981 — 100 Dollars (Pick 175a, H.R. Hardie Signature, Serial YAA173980, PMG 45 Choice Extremely Fine)

The 1981 one hundred dollars note represents the reintroduction and continuation of New Zealand’s highest denomination within the revised decimal currency series, issued during the ND (1981–1985) period under the signature of H.R. Hardie as Chief Cashier. This issue belongs to the later Hardie design phase, distinguished by the updated portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, presenting a more mature likeness compared to the earlier ND (1977–1981) series bearing the same signatory. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1985 — 100 Dollars (Pick 175b, S.T. Russell Signature, Issued Note, Serial YAB369567, PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated)

The 1985 one hundred dollars note represents the final chapter of New Zealand’s traditional paper currency for its highest denomination, issued within the ND (1985–1989) period under the authority of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and bearing the signature of S.T. Russell as Chief Cashier. This series marks the last fully developed paper format before the transition to polymer, preserving the culmination of decades of engraving, layout refinement, and security evolution. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 100 Reales Vellón Serie A Issued Note No. 23322 (Pick S451b)

A fully issued Serie A example of the Banco de Zaragoza 100 reales vellón dated 1 May 1857, serial number 23322. This is a true issued banknote classified as Pick S451b, not a remainder or specimen. Issued Zaragoza notes from 1857 are among the rarest Spanish provincial banknotes, with only two S451b examples recorded by PMG to date and very few known in private or institutional collections. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 500 Reales Vellón Serie C Issued Note No. 08785 (Pick S453a)

A fully issued 500 reales vellón banknote from Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie C, serial number 08785. Classified as Pick S453a, this is the circulation-authorized form of the denomination. Issued Zaragoza notes of this type are among the rarest survivors of Spain’s provincial banking era; nearly all original circulation was redeemed and destroyed during the consolidation of banknote issuance in the latter 19th century. ... Read more →

Argentina 1869 — Banco Domingo Garbino, 5 Pesos Fuertes Issued Note with Red Overprint (Pick S1803)

Issued 5 Pesos Fuertes note of Banco Domingo Garbino, printed by the American Bank Note Company (Compañía Americana de Billetes de Banco Nueva York) and formally activated for circulation through the large diagonal red overprint “DOMINGO GARBINO.” This overprint was not decorative nor optional: it was the legal validation required to transform the bank’s remainder stock (Pick S1792r) into fully issued, signed, numbered, and payable currency. For this reason, Pick S1803 represents the only surviving issued form of the Garbino 5 Pesos Fuertes denomination. The base printing displays ABNC’s early post-Civil-War engraving style: a vigilant dog guarding a strongbox at top center, allegorical female portraits representing rural labor and domestic virtue, and deep green lathe-work executed with the precision that made ABNC the dominant security printer in the Americas. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00589 (Pick S455)

An extraordinarily rare issued 2000 reales vellón banknote from the Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00589. Classified as Pick S455, this note represents the highest denomination placed into active circulation by the bank. Very few issued examples of any Banco de Zaragoza notes survive, and among these, the 2000 reales denomination is one of the most elusive. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00500 (Pick S455)

A fully issued 2000 reales vellón banknote from the Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00500. Classified under Pick S455, this note represents the highest denomination from Zaragoza known to have entered active circulation. Its survival is an exceptional anomaly: most high-value private-bank issues from this period were redeemed rapidly and destroyed, leaving only a microscopic population of true circulation-authorized notes. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00286 (Pick S455)

A genuinely rare issued 2000 reales vellón banknote of the Banco de Zaragoza, dated Zaragoza, 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00286. Catalogued as Pick S455, this denomination represents the upper tier of the bank’s circulating emissions and belongs to a class of notes that were produced in limited quantities and almost entirely redeemed and destroyed. The Banco de Zaragoza was one of the provincial banks authorised to issue paper currency during Spain’s short-lived liberal banking period following the 1856 banking reforms. ... 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. Within the denomination hierarchy, 5 Gulden functioned as a true intermediary value. ... Read more →