Collection PL

Australia 1880–1910 - Commercial Bank of Australia £100 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Pick Unlisted and absent from major catalogues, this note represents the intersection of rarity, artistry, cultural history, and financial significance. As a design artifact, a Chinese-Australian commercial document, a surviving record of deliberate 19th-century financial localization, and a financial relic from the end of Australia’s private-banknote era, this piece is an educational cornerstone for advanced Commonwealth collections and a critical reference in the study of pre-federation monetary history. Read more →

New Zealand 1907–1926 - Bank of New Zealand £20 Blue Serial-Prefix Audit Specimen (Pick S194s)

The PMG 55 About Uncirculated grade is exceptionally high for a large-format, soft-paper audit specimen. With Pop 1/1 status and no evidence of any additional audit-range examples in institutional or private holdings, this piece stands as the definitive reference for the BNZ £20 issue and a cornerstone artifact of New Zealand’s pre–Reserve Bank monetary history. Read more →

Australia 1877 - City of Melbourne Bank Limited £20 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The engraving is a characteristic example of Bradbury Wilkinson’s late Victorian security printing: a bold central title cartouche, finely balanced allegorical figures symbolizing commerce and navigation, and dense lathe-work designed to defeat contemporary counterfeiting. These elements were not decorative excess, but functional security features exported from London to colonial issuers seeking credibility and trust in rapidly expanding financial markets. Read more →

Australia 1877 - Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company Portrait of Woman for City of Melbourne Bank Limited 20 Pounds Design Intaglio Vignette (Pick Unlisted)

This engraved Portrait of Woman intaglio vignette was produced by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, and is directly connected to the City of Melbourne Bank Limited 20 Pounds specimen of 1877, where the same portrait appears as the principal vignette within the large ornamental panel at left. The proof preserves that portrait as a stand-alone engraved component before its integration into the complete banknote design. Read more →

New Zealand 1896 - Bank of Australasia £50 Christchurch Proof (Pick Unlisted)

This note stands as a museum grade witness to the institutional intent behind colonial paper money, representing not circulation currency but the conceptual and administrative foundation upon which it was built. Read more →

Australia 1835-1850 - Bank of Australasia £10 Melbourne Proof (Pick Unlisted)

The Bank of Australasia was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1835 and operated as one of the earliest British joint-stock banks active in Australia. From its inception, the bank relied on engraved paper currency to support commercial expansion in the Australian colonies, issuing notes payable in sterling on demand at its offices. Read more →

Brazil 1773 - Diamond Administration of Tejuco, 6 Octavas Gold Receipt No. 813 (Pick Unlisted)

Accordingly, the document qualifies as R9 - Unique: a singular surviving fiscal artifact of the Portuguese Crown's diamond-district administration at the height of Minas Gerais gold production. Its condition, completeness, watermark-bearing paper and clearly legible serial number 813 elevate it to true museum-grade status. Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Front Proof (Pick 175ap1)

The 1994 series marked Poland’s first fully modern banknote family following economic transformation and redenomination. It introduced a new visual identity grounded in historical portraiture, contemporary engraving techniques, and significantly upgraded anti-counterfeiting structures. Surviving proof material from this stage is exceptionally scarce due to routine archival destruction of trial and approval sheets once production concluded. Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Remainder (Pick 175ar Miłczak 198a–b)

This example documents a surviving production-stage form of the 1994 50 zlotych issue and provides a direct reference for the Thomas De La Rue printing sequence behind the final circulation note. Read more →

Australia 1877 - Mercantile Bank of Sydney £1 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

As the only confirmed specimen of this design and now graded at the highest possible level (PMG 66 EPQ Pop 1), this note serves as the definitive reference for the Mercantile Bank of Sydney’s unlisted £1 issue. Its rarity is absolute: a single recorded survivor, establishing an R9 classification under documented-population criteria. It stands among the most important early Australian private-bank specimens preserved in private hands. Read more →

Australia 1879–1903 - Federal Bank of Australia, Limited £1 Sydney Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated and recorded as the finest known example, this specimen stands as a unique surviving artifact of the Federal Bank of Australia’s brief existence. Its significance lies not only in its rarity but also in its documentation of Sydney’s role as a major colonial financial center during Australia’s private banknote era prior to Federation. Read more →

Poland 1926 - 10 Zlotych Bolesław Chrobry 992–1025 Watermark Remainder (Pick 65br)

This banknote is a remainder from the 10 złotych issue of Bank Polski dated 20 July 1926, printed on paper carrying a portrait watermark of Bolesław Chrobry together with the dates of his reign, 992–1025. In standard catalog references, this material is recorded as Pick 65br and represents the remainder counterpart to the issued type Pick 65b, sharing the same paper and watermark characteristics. Read more →