Collection PL

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Discovery AR Prefix Without Overprints Approval Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Discovery AR-prefix approval specimen of the 50 Zlotych banknote from the 1994 Polish issue, bearing serial number AR0000000. The piece documents a previously unrecorded AR-prefix approval-stage form within the production record of the series. Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Discovery AR Prefix with Red Overprint and Oval Stamp Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The lower tracking panel carries De La Rue specimen-control number 005, linking the note to the printer's internal specimen-control system. Together with the AR prefix and zero serial, it provides a clear production identity for this specific specimen form. Read more →

Poland 1994 - 50 Zlotych Discovery AR Prefix Perforated SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Handwritten archival markings remain on the face, including the date 30.4.96 along the lower margin, accompanying handwritten initials or notation, and a pencil control reference at the upper right. These annotations preserve evidence of later printer handling and archival retention. Read more →

Sweden 1785 - Stockholm Spinnhus Pollett System – Complete Nine-Denomination Institutional Currency Set:One Half Öre to One Daler (Pick Unlisted)

The monetary system consists of nine denominations: one half öre, one öre, two öre, five öre, six öre, seven öre, sixteen öre, twenty-four öre and one daler. Each note was engraved with a distinct ornamental frame and printed anopisthographically on eighteenth-century Swedish rag paper. All examples remain unissued and uncirculated, with several retaining archival tape residue from long-term institutional storage. Individual denominations are exceptionally rare, and the higher values-particularly seven öre, sixteen öre, twenty-four öre and one daler-are almost never encountered in private collections. Read more →

Egypt 1943 - Cyril IX Moghabghab, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch (Signed Patriarchal Letter, Alexandria)

Addressed to Dr. Tawfiq Hajjar in Cairo, the letter opens with the formal Melkite invocation of peace and apostolic blessing. However, its content is explicitly political, offering a rare glimpse into the diplomatic and intercessory functions of the Patriarchate during the final months of World War II and immediately before the proclamation of Lebanese independence (November 1943). Hajjar had requested patriarchal support for his appointment as a Lebanese political representative in the Egyptian kingdom. Cyril IX acknowledges this request and commends Hajjar’s standing among Cairo’s senior figures, noting that his reputation strengthens the legitimacy of the proposed appointment. Read more →

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

An exceptional and academically important survival from the experimental phase of Italy’s early post-unification banking era, this 250 Lire specimen from the short-lived Banca Italo-Germanica, cataloged as Pick S976s, represents one of the rarest and most ambitious private note-issuing projects attempted in Rome during the 1870s. No issued examples of this type are known to exist, and all scholarship indicates that the bank’s banknote program collapsed before any notes entered circulation, leaving only a microscopic number of presentation pulls, proofs, or internal printer’s archive sheets. This PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated example is the sole graded specimen in the PMG census, making it both Top Pop and Only Pop. Read more →

Uruguay 1872 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 100 Pesos = 10 Doblones Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

The note was produced in London by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. as part of the bank’s highest-level security printing program. Its oversized format, broad unprinted margins, and finely executed intaglio engraving identify it as an archival specimen rather than a circulation note. The serial number 010001 places this piece at the very beginning of the production sequence, consistent with an early pull retained for reference, approval, or institutional record rather than public issue. Read more →

Paraguay 1907 - 100 Pesos with 1912 Dual-Side State and Treasury Revalidation Overprint Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Among recorded Paraguayan emergency issues, the dual-side state and treasury revalidation format is virtually in a class of its own. It is not simply another overprint variety. It is a surviving document of how Paraguay attempted to defend official monetary credibility at a moment when ordinary paper value, legal value, and gold-referenced value were no longer the same thing in practice. The second overprint is therefore the key historical feature: it confirms that this note was not only reissued, but reviewed, fiscalized, and tied back to the higher official “Diez Pesos Oro Sellado” standard. As a Pick-unlisted specimen, base Pick 159, and R9 Extremely Rare survivor, it stands as a museum-grade crown piece of Paraguayan emergency paper money. Read more →

China 1880 - Sinkiang Textile Emergency Currency Cloth Note (Pick Unlisted)

The use of textile as a monetary substrate is not symbolic but functional. In western China during the late nineteenth century, cloth was durable, locally available, and resistant to the environmental conditions that rapidly degraded paper. Its fibrous structure absorbed pigment deeply, making hand-applied ink and overprints difficult to erase or alter. These characteristics made cloth suitable for emergency currency in regions far removed from centralized minting and printing facilities. Read more →

China 1915 - South Sinkiang Border Defence Headquarters 1 Tael Textile Emergency Issue (Pick Unlisted)

The banknote is printed on hand-woven textile rather than paper, a deliberate and practical choice dictated by frontier conditions. The cloth substrate displays visible horizontal striping consistent with regional weaving traditions, providing durability and resistance to casual counterfeiting. Printing was executed using woodblock techniques, producing uneven ink penetration characteristic of authentic frontier textile issues. Read more →

China 1918 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth, Local Authority Issue (Pick Unlisted)

Compared with earlier textile emissions from the region, this note displays denser calligraphy, more consistent stroke weight, and darker ink saturation. These characteristics suggest a later workshop phase within the same tradition, marked by re-cut blocks and incremental refinement rather than centralized standardization. The overall composition differs materially from the known 1880 Xinjiang issue and from subsequent paper issues such as those of the Dihua Coin Bureau. Read more →

China 1920 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth, Local Authority Issue (Pick Unlisted)

These characteristics rule out attribution to the same plates or issuing authority as the 1880 Xinjiang textile currency and distinguish the note from later, more standardized issues such as the 1924 Dihua Coin Bureau emissions. Instead, the piece reflects a descended regional design vocabulary, typical of Xinjiang textile currency, in which blocks were copied, adapted, and reinterpreted across different local administrations without centralized control. Read more →