Collection PL

Australia 1877 - Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company Portrait of Woman Intaglio Vignette Proof for City of Melbourne Bank Limited 20 Pounds Design (Pick Unlisted)

This Portrait of Woman intaglio vignette proof is a Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company printer’s library master associated with the portrait used on the City of Melbourne Bank Limited 20 Pounds specimen of 1877. It preserves the female portrait as a stand-alone engraved design element, before its integration into the complete colonial Australian banknote composition. The vignette is executed in oval format, with the sitter shown in a composed three-quarter portrait. ... Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Złotych Front Proof (Pick 175ap1)

The definitive front proof of the 1994 50 Złotych issue, this sheet represents the final approved obverse design prepared by Thomas De La Rue for Narodowy Bank Polski during Poland’s post-communist monetary reform. Executed as an internal production proof, it preserves the complete engraved obverse exactly as authorized for issue, prior to serial numbering and reverse printing. The design features the portrait of King Kazimierz III Wielki (Casimir the Great), rendered in De La Rue’s modern intaglio style and integrated into a complex guilloche framework reflecting European security-printing standards of the early 1990s. ... Read more →

Libya 1971 - Central Bank of Libya 10 Dinars Color Trial Specimen (Omar al-Mukhtar Portrait, Pick 37cts)

This color trial specimen represents a pre-issue production stage of the Central Bank of Libya 10 Dinars note introduced in 1971, prepared during the immediate post-monarchy redesign of the national currency. Following the establishment of the Libyan Arab Republic, royal imagery was formally removed and replaced with revolutionary-era symbolism, most prominently the portrait of Omar al-Mukhtar, positioned as a unifying national figure and ideological anchor of the new regime. Color trial specimens occupy a critical position within the banknote production sequence. ... Read more →

Ireland 1920 - Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound Proof (Pick 388p / UB39)

This 1920 Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound proof is a completed proof-stage example of one of the most visually distinctive private-bank issues from Ireland before partition. Dated Belfast, 1st June 1920, and bearing serial number A 00,005, the note belongs to the Ireland category rather than the later Northern Ireland issue structure. Its PMG classification as Proof, together with the Pick 388p and UB39 references, places it among the specialized archival forms of Ulster Bank Limited's early twentieth-century note production. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1904 - Thomas Cook & Son $50 Circular Note Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

A photographic proof of the 50 Dollars Circular Note produced for Thomas Cook and Son circa 1904, representing a pre-issue production artifact created during the final design and approval phase of one of the earliest globally recognized private payment instruments. This proof predates finished circulation notes and preserves the engraved face as prepared for reproduction rather than for direct financial use. These instruments are directly related to what later became known as Travellers Cheque and Travelers Check systems and are often collected within the same category of early international payment instruments. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1922 - Thomas Cook and Son 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Photographic proof of the 5 Pounds Travellers Cheque prepared for Thomas Cook and Son in the early 1920s, produced during the post First World War consolidation phase of the firm's international payment system. Mounted on cardstock and preserved as a production-stage reference image, this proof records the engraved face before the finalized specimen form was printed for presentation and control use. By the early 1920s, Thomas Cook and Son had established one of the most extensive private financial networks in the world. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1923 - Thomas Cook & Son Travellers Cheque 100 Rupees Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

A photographic proof of the 100 Rupees Travellers Cheque produced by Thomas Cook & Son circa 1923, created as part of the design verification and internal approval process for the firm’s rupee-denominated instruments intended for use across British India and associated territories. This proof represents a distinct production-stage artifact documenting the engraved face prior to finalized cheque issuance. By the early 1920s, Thomas Cook & Son had fully transitioned from a travel agency into a global financial intermediary, operating one of the most extensive private payment networks in the world. ... Read more →

Ireland - Northern 1929 - Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound Uncut Sheet of 3 Proofs with Specimen Perforation (Pick Unlisted)

This Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound uncut sheet of 3 proofs belongs to the Northern Ireland Issue design group of 1929-1934 and survives in a format not represented by the standard single-note Pick listing. It is cataloged here as Pick Unlisted, while the individual proof design is associated with Pick 306p. The sheet preserves three proof impressions before separation, making it a broad production artifact rather than a single cut proof. ... Read more →

Ireland - Northern 1929 - Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound Proof with Specimen Perforation (Pick 306p)

This 1929 Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound proof belongs to the Northern Ireland Issue period, when commercial banks in Northern Ireland continued the older Irish and British private-bank note tradition under a sterling monetary system. The note is cataloged as Pick 306p and represents proof-stage material for an Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound design prepared after partition, when Belfast had become the central geographic identity for the bank’s Northern Ireland note issue. Unlike a state treasury or central-bank note, this design presents the obligation of a commercial bank. ... Read more →

Ireland - Northern 1929 - Ulster Bank Limited Large-Format Watermarked Security Paper

This large-format Ulster Bank Limited watermarked security paper preserves the bank-name watermark used for private banknote production in the Northern Ireland issue period. The sheet belongs to the broader Ulster Bank Limited security-paper and proof-production environment associated with the 1929-1934 issue group, while its identity is defined by the watermark itself: Ulster Bank Limited. The paper is a production artifact in its own right. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1919 - Thomas Cook and Son 5 Pounds Circular Note Photographic Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Photographic proof of the 5 Pounds Circular Note prepared for Thomas Cook and Son in 1919, representing an early post First World War production-stage record from the firm's international private payment system. Mounted on cardstock and dated 24 April 1919 in manuscript on the mount, this proof preserves the face design of a 5 Pounds circular note before finished specimen or issued-form production. The design is printed in a warm brown photographic tone and shows a highly developed Thomas Cook and Son composition built around secure international payment rather than ordinary circulation. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1919 - Thomas Cook and Son 5 Pounds Circular Note Photographic Proof, Alternate Design (Pick Unlisted)

Photographic proof of the 5 Pounds Circular Note prepared for Thomas Cook and Son Limited in 1919, representing an alternate design approach within the firm's post First World War circular note production. Mounted on cardstock and identified by Professional Coin Grading Service as a 5 Pounds 19xx circular note proof from about 1919, this piece preserves a distinct proof-stage design for the same denomination and payment system as the companion 1919 photographic proof. The design is built around a dense ornamental structure rather than the portrait-based layout seen on the companion proof. ... Read more →