Collection PL

Australia 1890 - Bank of New South Wales £10 Brisbane Circular Note Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The face is headed "The Bank of New South Wales" above the designation "CIRCULAR NOTE for £10 STERLING." Brisbane appears beneath the denomination, while the opening instruction is addressed to the bankers named in the accompanying Letter of Indication. The text explains the circular-note procedure in full: the presenter was identified through the signature recorded on the Letter of Indication, after which the banker was instructed to pay the value of ten pounds sterling without deduction at the exchange of the day on London, against the holder's draft on the London office of the bank endorsed on the instrument. Read more →

Australia 1900 - Bank of New South Wales £10 London Circular Note Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Together, the London office designation, 19__ date format, Letter of Indication reference, exchange-on-London settlement wording, reverse demand draft, perforated specimen treatment, and large institutional watermark preserve the full working structure of an early 20th-century Bank of New South Wales circular note. Pick Unlisted, this London £10 specimen is recorded here as R9 Extremely Rare, with this example representing the only known specimen of the exact form. Read more →

Australia 1890 - Bank of New South Wales £10 Melbourne Circular Note Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The paper carries a large BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES watermark accompanied by broad ornamental watermark elements extending across the sheet. These watermark structures are especially visible through the less heavily printed areas of the reverse and form an integral part of the original security paper used for the circular-note issue. Read more →

Poland 1936 - 50 Zlotych Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (Pick 78a, Miłczak 77a–b)

Today, two distinct survivor groups are known: a very small number of uncirculated notes preserved from bank reserves, and a limited population of circulated examples reflecting wartime deployment. High-grade survivors are exceptional, underscoring the note’s dual identity as both an unrealized peacetime issue and an artifact of national collapse. Read more →

New Zealand 1895–1915 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Specimen (Pick S192s)

The high-denomination anchor of the Bank of New Zealand color series, this five pounds orange specimen (Pick S192s) represents one of the most structurally complex and production-informative notes of New Zealand’s private banking era. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company, Limited, London, it embodies the transition from richly ornamental Victorian engraving toward the more controlled and symmetrical Edwardian framework that followed. The composition preserves the defining elements of the earlier series-paired Māori figures within oval medallions at left, a lower maritime vignette reflecting colonial trade identity, and a dense guilloche lattice enclosing the denomination-while introducing a more disciplined spatial hierarchy across the central obligation panel. Read more →

New Zealand 1870–1890 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Green Specimen (Pick S191s)

This specimen carries a dual-prefix serial system, with A197001 at left and B047000 at right. These are not circulation serials but internal control numbers applied by Bradbury Wilkinson to track production stages, plate alignment, and archival referencing. The use of two independent serial blocks reflects early control methodology, allowing cross-verification between printing batches and ledger records. This dual-format numbering is a defining feature of early BNZ specimens and distinguishes them from later standardized serial practices. Read more →

New Zealand 1905-1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red with Serial Number Prefix G000001-G100000 Cancelled Perforation Specimen (Pick S212bs)

An archival £1 Red specimen from the Bank of New Zealand private-issue series, catalogued as Pick S212bs and drawn from the opening serial block G000001–G100000. This example was pulled directly from the working plates of Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, as an approval and control specimen for internal printer and bank-director reference during the closing phase of BNZ private note production. Read more →

New Zealand 1905-1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red with Serial Number Prefix G100001-G300000 Cancelled Perforation Specimen (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the G100001–G300000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Fully executed in final inks with live production numbering and perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel, identifying it as a printer-archive invalidation of a fully finished note rather than a proof or unfinished file copy. Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix E300001–E400000 (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the terminal E300001–E400000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Perforated SPECIMEN across the signature panel and preserved with wide selvage, this pull represents the final and rarest stage of BNZ £1 Red archival production. Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924-1933) - Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings with Perforated SPECIMEN Printers Archival Proof (Pick S161s)

As a museum grade research artifact, this proof embodies several converging narratives. It illustrates London based contract engraving for colonial and dominion banks, the trans Tasman operational identity of the Bank of New South Wales, and the use of perforated control markings as an internal security and archival mechanism within early twentieth century banknote production. Rather than serving as a monetary instrument, this piece functions as documentary evidence of how colonial banking institutions planned, approved, and archived designs that in some cases never reached the public. Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924-1933) - Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings Oversized with Perforated SPECIMEN Printers Archival Proof (Pick S161s)

The ND 1924-1933 date range reflects catalog convention rather than a single moment of engraving. Skipper and East reused master steel plates over extended periods, updating lettering and institutional references as banking charters evolved. Oversized proofs such as this document the printers finalized plate state prior to trimming and presentation decisions. Read more →

Mexico 1884 – Fábrica de Tunal 1 Peso (Pick Unlisted, ABNC)

As an issued and numbered piece (serial 07769, control letter 'A') this example comes from the active circulation series-not an archival pull or proof. Issued ABNC corporate notes are dramatically scarcer than the proofs occasionally seen from late ABNC dispersals. Notes like this circulated aggressively, were redeemed on payday, and were routinely destroyed during accounting consolidation. Their life expectancy was short, and surviving high-grade examples are exceptionally rare, especially in the PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated range. Read more →