Collection PL

Uruguay 1935 - Departamento de Emisión del Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 1,000 Pesos Large-Format Presentation Photo Proof Pair (Pick Unlisted)

Certified by Professional Coin Grading Service Currency as Choice About New 58 and described on the holder as mounted on cardstock, this piece survives as a complete face-and-back photographic proof ensemble. Its preservation within the original large-format mount distinguishes it from later, smaller presentation proofs and standard archival dispersals. As a result, it must be regarded not merely as a proof of a banknote design, but as a physical artifact of the design and approval process itself. Read more →

Australia 1961 - Bank of New South Wales Sterling Travellers Cheques, Complete Printer’s Proof Set £2-£50 (Pick Unlisted)

A complete archival printer’s proof set of five Sterling Traveller’s Cheques produced by Bradbury Wilkinson & Company in London for the Bank of New South Wales in April 1961. The set comprises the full denomination range - 2 Pounds, 5 Pounds, 10 Pounds, 20 Pounds, and 50 Pounds - preserved together from a single, documented submission event within the printer’s internal approval and numbering workflow. Read more →

Australia 1929 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited - Circular Letter of Introduction Photographic Proof (Mounted on Cardstock, PCGS 50 About New)

Certified PCGS 50 About New, the piece retains the essential characteristics of a production-stage artifact, with the photographic surface and cardstock mount preserved as evidence of its function within the institutional and printing process rather than as a circulated financial document. Read more →

Egypt 1907 - First Issue Revenues 1 & 2 Milliemes Tied on Official Document

These two adhesives belong to the very first adhesive revenue issue ever used in Egypt. Before this period, all fiscal charges were paid on pre-embossed stamped paper; the introduction of gummed revenue stamps marked the start of a completely new system. Only the 1m and 2m values were produced during this initial experimental rollout, reflecting a short-lived transitional phase with inherently limited printing and distribution. Because early offices routinely discarded or destroyed processed paperwork, full documents from this first generation-especially those retaining multiple values used together as originally intended-survive at extremely low rates. Read more →

Egypt 1931 - Singer Sewing Machine Co. Booklet with Tied Singer Revenues

Original 1931 Singer Sewing Machine Company service and instalment booklet issued in Cairo, printed on tan card stock with the standard Singer Manufacturing Company masthead, including the New York parent company reference at top. The front cover shows the booklet form number 'Form. 60/c. (30000 - 2.31)' and a small Singer Sewing Machines trade-mark medallion at upper left. Branch name and contract number are filled in in large manuscript ink, along with the hirers’ names recorded in flowing early-20th-century Arabic and English script. The cover also includes the standard five-point printed conditions governing instalment payments, usage of collectors' receipts, and return of the machine upon default. Read more →

Egypt 1911 - The Odeon Hall, Cairo Gold Watch Repair Invoice

The Odeon Hall belonged to a wave of cosmopolitan commercial houses operating in Cairo in the years before World War I, many owned or managed by Armenian, Greek, Syrian, and European families. These firms introduced modern retail practices and new technologies-gramophones, recorded music, optical goods, imported machines-while still offering traditional services like watch and clock repair. Their hybrid business model created a commercial culture that blended Middle Eastern craftsmanship with fast-growing European industrial products. Read more →

Egypt 1950 - Gamil Fawzi El-Motei Oldsmobile & Vauxhall Service Station (Heliopolis–Abbassia)

The central portion of the page is a preprinted Arabic automotive service and delivery form used for newly registered vehicles. Blank lines for date, customer name, vehicle make and chassis number, engine number, and license data are all filled in dark blue and black fountain-pen ink. The document records the delivery and registration details for a newly supplied vehicle in 1950, capturing the administrative workflow of a mid-century Cairo dealership at a time when postwar vehicle imports were accelerating and the Egyptian state was formalizing vehicle licensing procedures. Read more →

Egypt 1908 - Mohammed El Komi Carriage & Automobile Workshop Invoice

Mohammed El Komi’s workshop represented a transitional moment in Cairo’s urban transport industry. At the turn of the century, Egypt's roads were dominated by carriages, fiacres, and hired carts, yet the earliest imported motorcars were already appearing among the elite. Carriage makers such as El Komi adapted rapidly, offering both traditional vehicle repair and emerging automotive services. These mixed workshops were among the first in Cairo to work simultaneously on horse-drawn vehicles and imported motorcars, bridging traditional craftsmanship with new mechanical technology. Read more →

Egypt 1921 - National Bank of Egypt, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

Original National Bank of Egypt cheque issued in Cairo on 23 March 1921, printed on pale cream security paper with an elaborate blue guilloche frame. The border consists of finely interlaced geometric linework characteristic of early twentieth-century British-engraved financial stationery. The upper section displays the bold NATIONAL BANK OF EGYPT title flanked by twin rosettes, presenting the institution in its combined role as both Egypt’s de facto state bank and the country’s dominant commercial bank during this period. At bottom appears the engraved line 'Form A S No. 41' together with the printer’s plate impression at far right, referencing a standardized series used across NBE branches in the early 1920s. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte Condor Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

Together, the vignette die proof and the completed specimen document two distinct stages in the production of the same Banco de San Juan issue: the separately prepared pictorial engraving and its subsequent incorporation into the finished security-printed instrument. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes Specimen (S1881s)

The engraving reflects Bradbury Wilkinson’s mature export style for Latin American provincial banks. At center, a classical female allegory embodies republican ideals and stability; flanking vignettes incorporate native fauna and the provincial coat of arms, asserting regional identity within a federal framework. Dense lathe-work borders, layered guilloché fields, and crisp intaglio linework demonstrate security printing standards far beyond the capacity of local printers, reinforcing confidence in paper money issued far from the capital. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes Central Portrait Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

In the finished banknote, the portrait occupies the central oval beneath the inscription EL BANCO DE SAN JUAN. It is flanked by a sheep vignette at left and the provincial coat of arms at right, with large denomination numerals in the four corners and CINCO PESOS FUERTES incorporated into the principal denomination panels. Read more →