Collection PL

About 1994.pl
Results for “mount pelee eruption”
Martinique 1870 Banque de la Martinique 1 franc cheque recovered from the ruins of Saint-Pierre after the 1902 Mount Pelée eruption, with contemporary handwritten provenance notes

Martinique 1870 - Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Cheque Recovered After the 1902 Mount Pelée Eruption (Pick P.5A)

A Banque de la Martinique one franc cheque form, Pick P.5A, originally printed for use at Saint-Pierre during the late nineteenth century and later recovered from the ruins of the city following the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée on 8 May 1902. Although printed decades earlier as part of the bank’s standardized cheque issue, this surviving example was never negotiated as a financial instrument and instead entered history as a disaster-recovery relic, explicitly identified as such by contemporary handwritten annotations. Read more →

MartiniqueDisaster Recovery Cheque18701 FrancVery Fine Disaster Recovery Cheque1 FrancBanque de la MartiniqueMount Pelee EruptionSaint Pierre DestructionColonial Bank RuinsPick P.5AColonial Banking HistoryFrench Overseas TerritoriesCaribbean Monetary HistoryNineteenth Century BankingDisaster Recovered ArtifactDocumentary Financial InstrumentsSecurity Printing HistoryFrench Engraving TraditionMartinique18701902Museum GradeR9 Extremely RareUniqueAnnotationsHandwritten Annotations
Held
Ask PMG Census

Explore the collection

Martinique 1870 Banque de la Martinique 1 franc unissued cheque, Saint-Pierre issue, unused condition

Martinique 1870 - Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Unissued Cheque (Pick P.5A)

The place of issue, Saint-Pierre, anchors the document historically. Before the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, Saint-Pierre was the economic and administrative center of Martinique, often referred to as the "Paris of the Caribbean." Banking instruments originating from Saint-Pierre are therefore directly connected to the island’s lost commercial capital and its pre-disaster financial infrastructure.

French colonial treasury second of exchange dated 22 August 1871 for 2,000 francs, payable in New Caledonia, with printed text and manuscript treasury endorsements

New Caledonia 1871 - French Treasury Second of Exchange for 2,000 Francs (Service des Colonies)

Bills of exchange of this type were not generic issues but transaction-specific payment orders. Each example corresponded to an individual treasury authorization, defined by its date, serial number, signatories, designated colony, and amount. Differences in year, colony, or signatures therefore represent distinct fiscal transactions rather than variants or duplicates of a single issue.

Australia 1965 10 Dollars traveller's cheque approved design proof prepared by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, London, for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, printed in light green with centred Australia map vignette, left-side control punch, red approval line, B1 notation, and approval-stage printer's archive annotations dated 15 June 1965.

Australia 1965 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited 10 Dollars Travellers Cheque Approved Design Proof (Pick Unlisted)

The design combines practical banking clarity with Bradbury Wilkinson and Company's late security-printing craftsmanship. The main inscription, "The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited," is held in a clear central field, while the surrounding microlettered ground and guilloche borders preserve the security character expected from a major London security printer. The pale green and emerald tonal structure gives the cheque a lighter and more readable appearance around the bank title, amount line, countersignature area, and drawer's signature field. This approved visual language connects directly with the broader 1965 proof-room sequence preserved across the companion 20 Dollars and 50 Dollars designs.

↑ Top