Collection PL

United States 1974 — 1 Dollar Federal Reserve Note, Chicago District Paper Jam Error (Friedberg 1908-G, GD Block)

This 1974 1 Dollar Federal Reserve Note from the Chicago District (Friedberg 1908-G, GD Block) presents a distinct Paper Jam Error—an uncommon and revealing production mishap that occurs when the currency paper fails to feed smoothly through the intaglio press or overprint unit. The result is a wrinkled or crumpled section of paper that becomes permanently flattened into the design, often distorting part of the printed image or leaving telltale creases and folds embedded beneath the ink. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s multi-stage process involves extremely fine tolerances, with paper sheets passing at high speed through multiple presses—first for back printing, then face, and finally for seals and serials. ... Read more →

United States 1928G — 2 Dollars Legal Tender Note Red Seal Star Replacement (Friedberg 1508*)

This 1928G 2 Dollars Legal Tender Note (Friedberg 1508*, A Block) is a high-grade Star Replacement example from the first small-size red seal issue of U.S. currency. The star prefix before the serial number *03707599A identifies it as a replacement printed to substitute for a defective note detected during Bureau of Engraving and Printing inspection — an early quality control process that makes such notes inherently scarcer than standard production pieces. ... Read more →

United States 1929 - 5 Dollars Type 2 National Bank Note — The First National Bank of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Charter 1 (Fr. 1800-2)

Issued by The First National Bank of Philadelphia under Charter 1 — the very first federal national bank charter granted following the National Banking Act of 1863 — this five-dollar note represents the closing generation of National Currency printed before the system ended in the 1930s. Charter 1 defined the origin of federally chartered banking in the United States, anchoring Philadelphia’s financial network through multiple eras: Civil War greenbacks, Gilded Age expansion, and the economic transitions of the early twentieth century. Its officers, including C. ... 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 →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Consecutive Pair No. 00031–00032 (Pick S455)

An exceptional issued consecutive pair of 2000 reales vellón banknotes from the Banco de Zaragoza, dated Zaragoza, 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial numbers 00031 and 00032. Catalogued as Pick S455, this pair represents one of the earliest surviving serial groupings of the highest denomination issued by the bank and illustrates the original form in which such notes were placed into circulation. The Banco de Zaragoza operated during Spain’s brief liberal banking period following the 1856 reforms, when select provincial banks were authorised to issue their own circulating paper currency. ... Read more →

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

An issued 100 yuan banknote produced in 1945 under the authority of the Soviet Red Army Headquarters during the closing phase of the Second World War, later officially revalidated in 1946. Catalogued as Pick M36, this note forms part of the provisional monetary system established by Soviet military administration in northeastern China following the collapse of Japanese control in Manchuria. Currency issued by the Soviet Red Army Headquarters functioned within a command-level financial structure designed to support military logistics, civilian transactions, and administrative continuity in occupied territory. ... 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 →