Collection PL

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 →

Portugal 1799 - Real Erario 20000 Reis Apólice, Original Issue, No Overprint, Lisboa No. 37723

Issued in Lisboa in 1799 under the authority of the Real Erario, this 20,000-reis apolice is a Portuguese royal-era public debt instrument payable to bearer. It represents state-backed debt from a period of administrative continuity in late eighteenth-century Portugal, before the political and fiscal disruptions of the nineteenth century. Read more →

Brazil ca. 1852–1870 - Imperial Treasury of Brazil 10 Mil Réis Contemporary Counterfeit (Pick A231x)

This note represents a contemporary counterfeit of the Imperial Treasury of Brazil ten mil réis issue, produced during the active circulation period of the official banknote and intended to pass as legal tender in everyday commerce. Classified in standard references as Pick A231x, it is a period forgery rather than a later reproduction or fantasy piece, created using materials, engraving methods, and paper consistent with mid-nineteenth-century Brazilian monetary circulation. Read more →

Uruguay 1871 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 10 Pesos Face Proof (Pick S239p)

Face proofs occupied a distinct place within nineteenth-century banknote production. They were technical production artifacts used to evaluate and approve the engraved face before full note manufacture proceeded. This example therefore records the design at a critical production stage, preserving the approved plate work and original control layout associated with the 10 Pesos issue. Read more →

United States 1844 - Bank of Florida - Tallahassee 4 Dollars, State Bank Note, Final Revival Issue, FL-65-G26

Engraving for this issue is attributable to Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson, the predecessor firm to the American Bank Note Company. This attribution is supported by later archival material and aligns stylistically with mid-nineteenth-century American banknote engraving conventions. The face design employs classical allegorical figures and commercial imagery intended to project continuity, legitimacy, and economic order at a moment when the issuing institution itself was financially unstable. Read more →

Lower Canada 1837 - Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad - 15 Sous, Quarter Dollar, Half Dollar (Full Uncut Dual Series Sheet)

The denominations themselves correspond to multiple monetary systems in concurrent use. Fifteen sous aligns with fifteen pence, the quarter dollar corresponds to seven pence half penny, and the half dollar reflects a higher transactional unit. The simultaneous presence of British sterling, French-derived sou denominations, and dollar-based values illustrates the fragmented and hybrid monetary environment of Lower Canada in the 1830s. Read more →

Spain 1875 - Banco de España 50 Pesetas Contemporary Counterfeit (Pick 7x)

This note represents a contemporary counterfeit of the Banco de España fifty pesetas issue of 1875, produced during the active circulation period of the official banknote and intended to pass as legal tender in everyday commerce. Classified in standard references as Pick 7x, it is a period forgery rather than a later reproduction or fantasy piece, created using materials and printing methods consistent with nineteenth-century Spanish monetary circulation. Read more →

Spain 1876 - Banco de España 100 Pesetas Contemporary Counterfeit (Pick 11x)

This note represents a contemporary counterfeit of the Banco de España one hundred pesetas issue of 1876, produced during the active circulation period of the official banknote and intended to pass as legal tender in everyday commerce. Classified in standard references as Pick 11x, it is a period forgery rather than a later reproduction or fantasy piece, created using materials and printing methods consistent with late nineteenth-century Spanish monetary circulation. Read more →

South Africa 1828 - Cape of Good Hope Bank 5 Shillings Pre-Issue Sample (Pick S171p)

The obverse design reflects the visual language of early nineteenth-century British colonial banking. An ornate engraved border encloses a central vignette depicting ships anchored off the Cape with mountainous terrain in the background, a deliberate reference to maritime trade, provisioning, and the strategic role of the Cape as a commercial waypoint within the British imperial system. The textual promise to pay the bearer on demand is fully articulated, while the date and issuance fields remain incomplete, consistent with pre-authorization sample status. The reverse is blank, as expected for early colonial banking samples produced prior to standardized two-sided note formats. Read more →

South Africa 1861 - Montagu Bank 5 Pounds Remainder (Pick S231r)

The Montagu Bank was established in 1861 at a time when local banking was widely regarded as essential to trade and economic development within the Cape Colony. Contemporary accounts note that by the late nineteenth century more than thirty such local banks operated across the colony, each issuing its own paper currency. Montagu was among the smaller but more ambitious of these institutions, notable not only for issuing its own banknotes but for embedding itself physically and socially within the town’s commercial core. Read more →

United States 1854 - Empire City Bank 100 Dollars Proof (Pick NY1585G16P)

Archival records further support this classification. Six examples of this proof type were recorded in the American Bank Note Company Archives sale of 1990, indicating a very small surviving population derived directly from institutional holdings. Proofs of this nature were produced in extremely limited numbers and were often destroyed once designs were finalized or banks ceased operation, making surviving examples highly significant as primary evidence of nineteenth century American banknote production practices. Read more →

United States 1838 - Olney, Alabama 25 Cents, 50 Cents, 1 Dollar Uncut Sheet Remainder

The notes were printed from stock designs produced by Manly and Orr of Philadelphia, a major nineteenth century security printing firm that supplied generic engraved templates to a wide range of customers across the United States during the 1830s. These designs were marketed for rapid adoption by banks, merchants, and local issuers seeking to introduce paper money without the expense of commissioning custom engravings. As a result, identical or closely related layouts appear across numerous state and local issues of the period. Read more →