Collection PL

North Macedonia 2003 - 500 Denari Issued Note DA8148021 Golden Death Mask (Pick 21a)

The 500 Denari banknote dated January 2003 represents a continuation printing of the denomination within the banknote program of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. While maintaining the established design introduced in the 1996 series, the 2003 issue reflects a later production batch prepared by Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited in London, preserving the same national imagery while refining color balance and background guilloche structures. At the center of the design remains the Golden Mask motif derived from the funerary mask discovered at the archaeological site of Trebeništa near Ohrid, dating to the 6th century BCE. ... Read more →

Italy 1871 - Germania with Shield and Spear Vignette Die Proof Used for 500 Lire (Pick PS977)

This engraved vignette proof depicting 'Germania with Shield and Spear' was produced by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in London for the Banca Italo-Germanica during the early 1870s. The impression preserves the complete ornamental vignette prepared for the proposed 500 Lire banknote design, including the decorative frame and denomination tablet engraved for integration into the final banknote layout. ... Read more →

Poland 1988 - 50 Złotych Prefix HK Issued Note (Pick 142c)

The 50 Złotych banknote dated 'Warszawa, 1 Grudnia 1988' represents one of the final circulating issues of the Polish People's Republic before the monetary and political transformations of the early 1990s. Printed by Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych in Warsaw for the Narodowy Bank Polski, the denomination formed part of the 1986–1988 modernization of the circulating banknote series. The obverse presents the portrait of General Karol Świerczewski, a military figure associated with the communist period of Polish history. ... Read more →

Canada 1896 - Bank of Nova Scotia 20 Dollars Front and Back Proofs (Pick Unlisted)

Matched front and back proof pair of the 20 Dollars banknote issued by The Bank of Nova Scotia of Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated 22 July 1896. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York, the pair documents the approval stage of one of the most elaborate chartered banknote designs produced in Canada during the late nineteenth century. The front proof is printed in black and white, the standard format used for die and plate approval. ... Read more →

Fiji 1942 - 1 Pound Government of Fiji Overprint on New Zealand £1 (Pick 45c)

This one pound note issued for Fiji in 1942 was created by overprinting an existing Reserve Bank of New Zealand £1 note originally dated 1 August 1934. The base note was printed by Thomas De La Rue & Company in London for circulation in New Zealand, but during the Second World War it was adapted for emergency use within the British colony of Fiji. In early 1942 Japanese military expansion across the Pacific severely disrupted supply lines throughout the British colonial network. ... Read more →

Greenland 1856 - 6 Skilling R.M. Danish Administration Colonial Remainder (Pick A33r)

Unissued 6 Skilling Rigsmoent note prepared for the Danish colonial administration in Greenland, dated 1856 and printed in Copenhagen under royal contract. Catalogued as Pick A33r, this is a remainder issue, never signed or released for circulation. It belongs to the earliest organized currency system of Greenland, a period when the island's economy operated almost entirely through the Royal Greenland Trading Department. ... Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Serial HC7367738 PMG 70 EPQ Star, Top Pop (Pick 175a)

Definitive circulation note of the 1994 issue (ND 1995) depicting King Kazimierz III Wielki. Catalogued as Pick 175a and CM#198a‑b, this type inaugurated the modern post‑redenomination design language for Narodowy Bank Polski, with intricate guilloches, latent images, microtext, and a crowned‑eagle watermark derived from the state arms. This certified example is graded PMG 70 EPQ ★, the highest grade assigned for the type and a Top Pop. ... Read more →

France 1793 - Domaines Nationaux Assignat 10 Sous Block 305, Watermark RF/Xs (Pick A68b)

Small‑change assignat issued by the Revolutionary government for the sale and administration of the 'Domaines Nationaux'-property confiscated from the Crown, Church and émigrés. These fractional notes functioned as day‑to‑day money during the inflationary years of the Revolution. The face shows the typographic layout introduced for the small denominations: a classical frame with civic emblems and the famous border mottos 'LA LOI PUNIT DE MORT LE CONTREFACTEUR' and 'LA NATION RÉCOMPENSE LE DÉNONCIATEUR'. ... Read more →

France 1793 - Domaines Nationaux Assignat 50 Sols Série 681 Watermark RF/50s (Pick A70b)

Fifty‑sols assignat from the 'Domaines Nationaux' series-fractional Revolutionary paper keyed to sales and rents of nationalized property but used broadly as transactional money. The denomination sits in a classical pediment supported by allegorical figures of Economy and Justice, a visual program meant to legitimize paper credit in a time of fiscal emergency. Design details include 'Loi du 23 Mai 1793', 'Série 681', the manuscript signature 'Fausny', an impressed state seal (timbre sec), and a purpose‑made watermark 'RF/50s'. ... Read more →

France 1792 - Domaines Nationaux Assignat 15 Sols Série 1808 (Pick A54)

Early small‑denomination assignat dated to the constitutional monarchy’s final months-'Loi du 4 Janvier 1792' and 'L’An Quatrième de la Liberté' appear in the header cartouches. Printed for the Domaines Nationaux program, these 15‑sol notes bridged everyday commerce and the land‑backed credit scheme that financed the Revolution. The frame is packed with didactic devices: laurel panels, civic emblems, the legal threats against forgers, and the reward to informers. ... Read more →

Italy 1870 - Banca Toscana di Anticipazioni e di Sconto 2 Lire (Pick Unlisted)

Florentine two‑lire "Bono di Cassa" authorized by Royal Decree of 24 April 1870 for the Banca Toscana di Anticipazioni e di Sconto. The face shows Dante Alighieri at left, a boldly engraved LIRE DUE tablet at center, and a red circular control seal of Florence-typical of Tuscan bank instruments immediately after unification. These cashier’s notes formed the short‑term liquidity layer of Italy’s regional banking scene in the 1860s–1870s, sitting between coin and larger banknotes. ... Read more →

Ireland - Northern 1940 - Northern Bank Limited 1 Pound Issued Note, Black Prefix and Serial Number (Pick 178b / NR68)

This 1940 Northern Bank Limited 1 Pound issued note is a high-grade survivor of the bank's pre-decimal sterling note tradition in Belfast. Dated 1st January 1940 and bearing serial number N-I/H 028711, the note is cataloged as Pick 178b and NR68, the black-prefix and black-serial-number variety recorded for this wartime-period issue. PMG grades the note 67 EPQ Superb Gem Uncirculated, placing it in an exceptional state of preservation for a design usually encountered with handling, folds, teller wear, or circulation toning. ... Read more →