Collection PL

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 →

New Zealand 1895-1908 - Bank of New Zealand £10 Brown with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S193bs)

A high-denomination specimen from the Bank of New Zealand color lineage, the ten pounds brown (Pick S193bs) represents the serial-prefix approval format bearing dual printed control numbers, 097476 at upper left and 102475 at lower right. These serial-prefix specimens were produced for internal audit, plate approval, and archival reference purposes, distinct from zero-serial specimen impressions. Read more →

New Zealand 1916-1920 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Red-Rose (Orange Lineage) with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S227s)

This specimen is a reference-grade artifact of New Zealand monetary history, combining wartime production context, live serial numbering, internal control markings, and documented survival from the Bank of New Zealand’s private-issue period. Certified PMG 65 EPQ Gem Uncirculated, it is the sole PMG-certified example at this grade and Top Pop. R8 rarity. Read more →

New Zealand 1913 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Multi-Serial Approval Specimen (Pick S192ms)

A numbered approval specimen of the Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange design, printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, circa 1913. Though derived from the original 1895 S192 plate, this example bears two distinct serial numbers (286901 and 296900), identifying it as a multi-serial approval specimen drawn from the opening and closing positions of a controlled production range. Such pieces were created for printer audit, plate verification, and contractual record-keeping rather than circulation. PMG catalogs this variant as Pick S192ms. 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)

Surviving specimens of the S191s type are extremely scarce. Most were removed during archival reductions or lost during the transition from private-bank to centralized currency issuance. As the earliest and foundational specimen of New Zealand’s engraved banknote history, this one pound green stands as the origin point of the BNZ color lineage and a cornerstone reference within the broader narrative of colonial-era currency development. Read more →

New Zealand 1924-1925 - Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings with SPECIMEN Perforation Front Proof (Pick S231p1)

Archival proofs like this survive only because Bradbury Wilkinson preserved reference sets for internal documentation. When BWC’s archives were dispersed in the late 20th century, just a handful of front proofs from this series reached collectors. With PMG 63 Top Pop status, this example is the finest-known surviving representation of the BNZ’s last major design update-a foundational artifact in the story of New Zealand’s path from provincial commercial banking to a unified national monetary identity. Read more →