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Italy 1871 Germania with shield and spear vignette die proof engraved by Bradbury Wilkinson for the Banca Italo-Germanica 500 Lire design

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

The proof reference PS977 identifies the design’s later appearance in the 500 Lire proof prepared for the Banca Italo-Germanica. Within the banknote production chain, such vignette impressions represent one of the earliest surviving stages of the design process, preceding plate assembly, color separation, and final printing. Read more →

ItalyVignette1871-PMG Certified (Vignette Proof) VignetteVignette ProofIntaglio PrintSteel EngravingBanknote EngravingGermania AllegoryGermania with Shield and SpearFemale Personification of GermanyImperial Eagle ShieldBradbury WilkinsonBWCSecurity Printing19th Century EngravingEngraving Approval StageBanca Italo-GermanicaItalo-German Banking RelationsEuropean Banking HistoryGerman Unification EraItaly1871500 LirePS977Museum Grade
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Italy 1871 Germania with shield and spear vignette die proof engraved by Bradbury Wilkinson for the Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire (Pick PS976)

Italy 1871 - Standing Italia Vignette Die Proof used on Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire

The composition depicts a standing female personification of Italia within an elaborate vertical frame. She holds a book or document in one hand and rests the other beside a heraldic shield bearing the Italian arms. Architectural forms rise in the background, while inscriptions and symbolic details are incorporated into the surrounding landscape and ornamental structure. The figure combines classical allegorical imagery with contemporary references to the newly unified Italian state.

Italy 1869 Bradbury Wilkinson engraved portrait vignette used directly in the Credito Agricolo della Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna 30 Lire banknote design

Italy 1869 - Credito Agricolo della Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna 30 Lire Portrait Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

Vignettes of this type were engraved separately within the security printing workflow, allowing master engravers to refine portrait structure, shading, and line depth before integration into the full note layout. The precision visible in the engraving reflects high-level nineteenth century intaglio technique, with controlled line work used to build tonal realism and dimensional depth.

Italy 1871–1872 Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire specimen, Pick S976s, Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., PMG 64 Top Pop

Italy 1871–1872 - Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire Specimen (Pick S976s)

Produced by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in London during the early stages of their European expansion, the engraving reflects a transitional moment in BWC’s development from commercial engravers into one of the world’s premier security printers. The deeply cut guilloches, vast empty margins, and sculptural allegory of Standing Italia exhibit a sophistication rarely seen on private Italian issues of the period. BWC’s design language of the 1870s-ornate, aspirational, and technically ambitious-foreshadows the company’s later dominance in colonial and European banknote engraving. As an artifact of design history alone, this note marks one of the earliest intersections between British engraving expertise and the newly unified Italian state.

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