Collection PL

Mexico 1884 – Fábrica de Tunal 1 Peso (Pick Unlisted, ABNC)

One of the most sophisticated corporate issues produced in northern Mexico during the Porfiriato modernization period, this fully issued and serialed 1 Peso note from La Fábrica de Tunal represents a hybrid monetary instrument that straddled formal banknote design and private scrip functionality. Unlike the majority of locally lithographed corporate payroll chits of the 1880s, this piece was engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York-an extremely rare choice for a non-bank issuer and clear evidence of the company's scale and financial ambition. Read more →

Argentina 1844 - Provincia de Buenos Ayres 5 Pesos Moneda Corriente Issued Note, 1º Febrero 1844, Rosas Confederation Legend, Rosas Signature (Pick S389)

The note was produced by the Casa de Moneda de Buenos Ayres, operating under the financial system structured by José María Rojas y Patrón, Minister of Finance under Rosas. The manuscript signature 'Rojas' appearing on the note is that of José María Rojas y Patrón himself, whose authority governed provincial treasury operations, monetary policy, and the controlled issuance of fiduciary paper currency during this period. Read more →

Mauritius 1842 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled (Pick S122a)

The manuscript signatures, cashier validations, and pen script date confirm authentic circulation. The oval CANCELLED stamps - struck at redemption - document the bank’s auditing cycle, which removed exhausted notes from the economy and destroyed them thereafter. Fully issued and redeemed notes from the early 1840s are particularly rare because high-value dollars were usually handled only by merchants, shipping firms, and sugar estates, leaving little chance for survival. Read more →

Mauritius 1843 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Remainder (Pick S122r)

The survival of any Mauritius Commercial Bank remainder from the early 1840s is exceptionally rare. Most printed stock was either overprinted, used for training, or destroyed during later reconciliations as the bank retired the dollar series. Fully issued examples were almost all redeemed and cancelled, while unissued sheets were typically discarded or reused. This 1843-dated remainder is therefore one of the only high-grade witnesses to the precise engraved state of the early dual-currency series. Read more →

Argentina 1881 - Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires 2 Pesos Oro Proof (Pick S536fp)

As a period ABNC India-paper proof, this piece captures the engraving exactly as it existed on the master plate before tint stones, serialing, or final production adjustments. Such proofs were archived by both the printer and the bank, used as reference material, and later preserved in private collections after the dispersal of ABNC archives. Survival of a single proof of this denomination-especially at PMG 64 Top Pop-marks it as a museum-grade artifact documenting the peak of American engraving influence in South America and the early evolution of Argentina's 'Pesos Oro' monetary standard. Read more →

New Zealand 1924-1925 - Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings with SPECIMEN Perforation Front Proof (Pick S231p1)

Beyond its technical and artistic importance, the 1924–25 10 Shillings proof captures a pivotal shift in New Zealand’s visual and monetary identity. The decision to place Tamati Waka Nene on the obverse marked a rare and forward-looking acknowledgment of Māori leadership at a time when indigenous representation on currency across the British Empire was almost nonexistent. His role as a stabilizing force during the early colonial period mirrored the note’s function: a unit of everyday exchange meant to circulate broadly among both Māori and Pākehā communities. Read more →

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

Beyond its printed details, this piece captures a rarely told chapter of Argentina’s monetary adolescence. In 1867, provinces like Santa Fe and Entre Rios were still using a cocktail of currencies - reales, pesos bolivianos, private banknotes, merchant drafts, and foreign coin. The Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata stepped into this fragmented environment with the explicitly British strategy of stabilizing trade routes and agricultural exports through reliable convertible paper. This little 4 Reales note represents the bank’s attempt to impose order on a chaotic frontier economy, where a single cowhide or sack of grain could be worth more than the entire circulating paper stock. Read more →

Argentina 1871 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 10 Pesos Rosario No. 000001 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

A handwritten pencil annotation appears at the upper left margin, consistent with nineteenth century office handling and dating to February 1872. This notation post dates the printed issue date and reflects routine administrative processing rather than later collector intervention. Read more →

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

Rarity: the entire PMG census lists only two graded examples of Pick S1566 (VF 10 and VF 15). With both serial 05056 (fragmented) and 15849 (complete) now documented in this collection, they represent the only illustrated and confirmed survivors. This fragment therefore stands as a research cornerstone for the type, bridging catalog theory and tangible evidence of one of Argentina’s rarest 19th-century provincial notes. Read more →

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

Unlike the larger banks of Buenos Aires or Córdoba, El Banco del Chaco operated on razor-thin reserves and depended heavily on the unpredictable rhythms of northern agriculture. A provincial note from this region is far scarcer in any condition, because almost none were set aside. Local economic instability and periodic bank failures ensured that issued notes were redeemed, cancelled, or destroyed-making worn survivors vastly rarer than high-grade proofs from other provinces. Read more →

Uruguay 1867 - Banco Oriental 10 Pesos = 1 Doblón de Oro Sellado Dual Handwritten Signatures at Left and Right Serial 23286 Issued Note (Pick S385a)

Cataloged under Pick S385a together with all other issued 1867 Banco Oriental 10 Pesos Doblón notes, this dual handwritten signature state is not separately recognized by standard catalogs. Nevertheless, its extreme scarcity among surviving examples indicates that it represents the rarest authorization variant of the entire issue. Read more →

Uruguay 1867 - Banco Oriental 10 Pesos = 1 Doblón de Oro Sellado Centered Handwritten Signature Serial 35345 Issued Note (Pick S385a)

Within a complete study of the Banco Oriental Doblón series, serial 35345 occupies a critical transitional position, bridging the rare dual handwritten signature state and the later standardized facsimile signature issue. It provides direct physical evidence of an otherwise undocumented intermediate authorization practice. Read more →