Collection PL

Argentina 1867 — Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 4 Reales Plata Boliviana Proof (Pick S1734p)

Archival proof printed by the American Bank Note Company for the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, dated 1 Enero 1867 and assigned to the Rosario branch. This fractional 4 Reales denomination belongs to the transitional pre-peso period when Argentine provincial banks still operated under the 'Moneda Boliviana' standard inherited from regional trade with Bolivia and Peru. The design features a central bull’s head vignette framed by intricate ornamental borders — a unique choice among Argentine banknotes. ... Read more →

Argentina 1884 — El Banco del Chaco 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro Serial 15849 (Pick S1566)

Issued provincial note from El Banco del Chaco, Villa Ocampo branch, dated 1 Octubre 1884, printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, under Argentina’s Ley de Bancos Garantidos system. Hand-signed, Series I, serial 15849. The allegorical female personifies Agriculture, flanked by a dog and bull symbolizing loyalty, vigilance, and strength. ... Read more →

Argentina 1884 — El Banco del Chaco 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro Serial 05056 (Pick S1566)

Partial issued note of El Banco del Chaco’s 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro, dated 1 Octubre 1884 and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, for the Villa Ocampo branch under the Ley de Bancos Garantidos provincial charter. The vignette centers on an allegory of Agriculture symbolizing prosperity and labor, flanked by a dog and bull for loyalty and strength—one of BWC’s finest small-format engravings for South America. Although the upper-right corner is missing, this early-serial piece (No. ... Read more →

Argentina 1866 — Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 1 Real Rosario Type A (Printed Signature) PS1731 · Bauman SFE 70

Early circulating bank vale issued by the Rosario branch of the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, dated Rosario, 15 de Setiembre de 1866. The note promises payment at sight of one Real in Plata Boliviana, reflecting the silver standard widely used in regional trade across the Rio de la Plata basin and the interior provinces of Argentina during the mid-nineteenth century. The Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, founded in London in 1862, represented one of the first large foreign banking institutions operating in the Southern Cone. ... Read more →

Argentina 1866 — Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 1 Real Rosario Type B (Hand-Signed) PS1731 · Bauman SFE 70

Issued fractional bank vale of the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata dated Rosario, 15 de Setiembre de 1866. The note promises payment at sight of one Real in Plata Boliviana and belongs to the earliest circulation phase of British-controlled private banking activity in Argentina. Founded in London in 1862, the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata rapidly became one of the most influential foreign financial institutions operating in the Rio de la Plata region. ... Read more →

Great Britain c.1806–1812 — Derby Bank £5 Proof (Pick Unlisted)

A printer’s proof of a £5 note prepared for the Derby Bank during the formative years of British provincial banking, dating to circa 1806–1812. This piece belongs to the critical transitional period between eighteenth-century handwritten credit instruments and the fully industrialized, security-driven banknote production that would dominate the nineteenth century. At the time this proof was produced, Britain’s monetary system was still decentralized. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 500 Reales Vellón Serie C Issued Note No. 08785 (Pick S453a)

A fully issued 500 reales vellón banknote from Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie C, serial number 08785. Classified as Pick S453a, this is the circulation-authorized form of the denomination. Issued Zaragoza notes of this type are among the rarest survivors of Spain’s provincial banking era; nearly all original circulation was redeemed and destroyed during the consolidation of banknote issuance in the latter 19th century. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00589 (Pick S455)

An extraordinarily rare issued 2000 reales vellón banknote from the Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00589. Classified as Pick S455, this note represents the highest denomination placed into active circulation by the bank. Very few issued examples of any Banco de Zaragoza notes survive, and among these, the 2000 reales denomination is one of the most elusive. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00286 (Pick S455)

A genuinely rare issued 2000 reales vellón banknote of the Banco de Zaragoza, dated Zaragoza, 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00286. Catalogued as Pick S455, this denomination represents the upper tier of the bank’s circulating emissions and belongs to a class of notes that were produced in limited quantities and almost entirely redeemed and destroyed. The Banco de Zaragoza was one of the provincial banks authorised to issue paper currency during Spain’s short-lived liberal banking period following the 1856 banking reforms. ... Read more →

Spain 1857 — Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Consecutive Pair No. 00031–00032 (Pick S455)

An exceptional issued consecutive pair of 2000 reales vellón banknotes from the Banco de Zaragoza, dated Zaragoza, 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial numbers 00031 and 00032. Catalogued as Pick S455, this pair represents one of the earliest surviving serial groupings of the highest denomination issued by the bank and illustrates the original form in which such notes were placed into circulation. The Banco de Zaragoza operated during Spain’s brief liberal banking period following the 1856 reforms, when select provincial banks were authorised to issue their own circulating paper currency. ... Read more →

Argentina 1869 — Banco Domingo Garbino, 1 Peso Fuerte Issued Note with Red Overprint (Pick S1802)

Issued 1 Peso Fuerte note of Banco Domingo Garbino, printed by the American Bank Note Company (Compañía Americana de Billetes de Banco Nueva York) and formally activated for circulation through the large vertical red overprint “DOMINGO GARBINO.” This overprint was the legal validation required to convert remainder stock (Pick S1791) into fully issued, signed, numbered, and payable currency. Pick S1802 represents the only surviving issued form of the Garbino 1 Peso denomination. The base design reflects ABNC’s late 1860s export engraving style. ... Read more →

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

This engraved central portrait vignette was produced by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company in London as the primary design element for the 1876 Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes issue. It is not an unrelated or stock engraving, but the exact central allegorical figure integrated into the final banknote design, forming a direct and inseparable component of the note’s visual and symbolic structure. The vignette depicts a classical female allegory rendered in high-precision intaglio, embodying republican ideals, stability, and institutional authority. ... Read more →