Collection

Barbados 1943 — $100 Front & Back Archival Photograph (Unlisted)

Pair of archival photographs showing both the front and back of an unissued $100 design dated 1943. Produced within British colonial banking workflows, these monochrome prints documented layout, portraits, and border work before (or instead of) any production run. The images preserve the wartime high denomination that never reached circulation, with King George VI portraiture and formal colonial ornament. ... Read more →

Great Britain c.1806–12 — Derby Bank £5 (Proof)

Private-bank proof for Derby Bank, engraved and printed during the early mechanized-engraving era of Perkins & Heath, circa 1806–1812. This design reflects the formative period of British security printing when provincial banks commissioned bespoke copper and early steel plates for limited circulation. The note carries intricate calligraphic text, a bank crest, and the London payable line referencing Samuel Smith & Co., typical of pre-Banking-Act private issues that preceded national standardization. ... Read more →

Brazil 1963 — Tesouro Nacional 20 Cruzeiros (Front & Back Proof)

Superb archival proof of the 20 Cruzeiros note, produced by the American Bank Note Company for the Tesouro Nacional. Both obverse and reverse are mounted on a single presentation sheet, showcasing the portrait of Dom Pedro II at right and an allegorical vignette of reclining Industry on the reverse. The pair demonstrates the harmony of engraving and typographic composition typical of Brazil’s mid-century currency. ... Read more →

Brazil 1964 — 100 Cruzeiros (Essay Face Proof, SCWPM 170b)

Large-format essay face proof for a proposed 100 Cruzeiros design, mounted on card and attributed to the early Tesouro Nacional redesign period of the 1960s. This archival printer’s pull demonstrates the face layout considered for adoption under SCWPM 170b, with unfinished margins and unprinted color fields typical of pre-production material. Essays such as this served as presentation pieces for government and bank approval before finalizing plate engravings. ... Read more →

Poland 1941 — 1 Złoty, Uncut Sheet of 3 Notes with Serial Numbers (Pick 99b, PMG 55)

Uncut sheet of three 1 Złoty notes printed by the Emission Bank in 1941, Series BE. Each note bears its complete serial number sequence — a rare feature for surviving production materials from the wartime period. Two perforation control holes and a red diagonal cancellation mark across the center indicate withdrawal during the printer’s inspection phase. ... Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924–1933) — Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings, Perforated SPECIMEN (Pick S161s), Charles Skipper & East London Proof

Printer’s archival proof for the Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings, classified in the Standard Catalog and PMG system as New Zealand Pick S161s (ND 1924–1933) and attributed to Charles Skipper & East, London. Although cataloged under New Zealand because of the bank’s cross-Tasman operations and later currency context, this piece is fundamentally an Australian bank design printed in London—typical of interwar colonial practice where London firms supplied house styles for banks active across Australasia. This specimen is single-sided in orange-red with full untrimmed margins, a blank reverse, and the characteristic perforated legend “SPECIMEN C. ... Read more →

Australia 1961 — Bank of New South Wales Sterling Traveller’s Cheques, Complete Proof Set (Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London)

Complete archival proof set of five Sterling Traveller’s Cheques produced by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, for the Bank of New South Wales in April 1961. The set comprises 2 Pounds, 5 Pounds, 10 Pounds, 20 Pounds, and 50 Pounds, each bearing the printer’s manuscript control notations and dated approval workflow marks from the same submission. Across the set, the faces show the full engraved traveller’s cheque design used by the bank in the early 1960s: multitone intaglio guilloche backgrounds, denomination tablets at the corners, central payable text panels, and the Bank of New South Wales London address at 29 Threadneedle Street. ... Read more →