Search Results for "rare" - Collection

Libya 1971 Central Bank of Libya 10 Dinars color trial specimen with Omar al-Mukhtar portrait, pre-issue intaglio color calibration, specimen overprint, PMG 64 choice uncirculated

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

As a result, this piece stands as a primary documentary artifact of Libya’s early republican currency reform. Its significance lies in recording the precise moment when portrait, palette, and political messaging converged into a finalized banknote design, making it a museum-grade reference for the study of post-1969 Libyan monetary history and modern banknote production methodology. Read more →

LibyaColor Trial Specimen197110 DinarsPMG 64 Choice Uncirculated (Top Population) Color TrialProduction ProofPre-Issue Print StageSingle Punch HolePunch CancelledIntaglio Color CalibrationSpecimen Of No ValueControl SerialOmar al-MukhtarPost Monarchy Currency ReformLibyan Arab RepublicRevolutionary Era IconographyCentral Bank Of LibyaLibya19711971–1972Pick 37ctsPick 37Top PopMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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Libya 1971 Central Bank of Libya Omar al Mukhtar intaglio vignette proof, standalone engraved portrait master used for the 10 Dinars series, PMG certified

Libya 1971 - Central Bank of Libya Omar al-Mukhtar Intaglio Vignette Proof (Portrait Master for 10 Dinars Issue)

As such, this vignette stands as a museum-grade reference object documenting both the technical engraving process and the ideological transformation of Libyan currency in the early republican period. It represents the point at which political symbolism, artistic execution, and monetary authority converged into a finalized national image. Read more →

LibyaVignette1971Portrait Only (10 Dinars Design Element)PMG Uncirculated Intaglio Vignette ProofMaster Portrait EngravingProduction Stage ArtifactPre Issue EngravingStandalone VignetteOmar al MukhtarAnti Colonial IconographyPost Monarchy Currency ReformLibyan Arab RepublicCentral Bank of LibyaLibya19711971–1972Pick 37 RelatedMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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Libya 1971 Central Bank of Libya 10 Dinars specimen with Omar al Mukhtar portrait, red specimen overprint, zero serial controls, final approved design state, PMG 58 EPQ

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

As such, this piece stands as a museum-grade reference artifact within Libyan numismatics, completing the production sequence from master vignette and color trials to issued currency. It preserves the moment when political symbolism, engraving execution, and monetary authority were unified into a finalized national banknote. Read more →

LibyaSpecimen197110 DinarsPMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated Exceptional Paper Quality (Top Population) Specimen BanknoteFinal Plate ApprovalPre Issue DistributionZero Serial ControlSpecimen OverprintOmar al MukhtarAnti Colonial IconographyPost Monarchy Currency ReformLibyan Arab RepublicCentral Bank of LibyaLibya19711971–1972Pick 37sPick 37Exceptional Paper QualityTop PopMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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Paraguay 1907 100 Pesos Banco de la República note with 1912 Emisión del Estado state overprint on the face, Pick 134, base Pick 159, printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, PMG 65 EPQ Gem Uncirculated Top Pop

Paraguay 1907 - 100 Pesos with 1912 State Overprint (Pick 134, Base Pick 159)

Exceptional 1907 Banco de la República 100 Pesos, printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, and later revalidated by the Paraguayan state through the bold oval overprint “Emisión del Estado – Ley de 11 de Enero de 1912.” This is the recognized catalogued 1912 state-overprint issue, Pick 134, created on the original 1907 Banco de la República 100 Pesos base type, Pick 159. Unlike the rarer dual-side treasury revalidation variety, this example carries the official state emission overprint on the face only, making it the standard and historically definitive form of the 1912 emergency reissue. Read more →

ParaguayOverprint Issue1907100 PesosPMG 65 EPQ Gem Uncirculated (Top Pop) Overprint Issue100 PesosPick 134Pick 159Base Pick 159State OverprintSingle-Side OverprintFace OverprintProvisionalEmergency State IssueFiscal RevalidationGovernment RevalidationWaterlow & SonsBanco de la RepúblicaEmisión del EstadoLey de 11 de Enero de 1912Moneda NacionalDiez Pesos Oro SelladoGold-Value ClauseSeries ARed Serial NumberBlack Oval OverprintArchitectural VignetteGuilloché Security DesignParaguayan Emergency Issues1912 ReformParaguayan Civil War PeriodSouth American Monetary HistoryEarly 20th Century FinanceEmergency CurrencyOverprint VarietiesState LiabilityCurrency RevalidationParaguayRepublic of Paraguay19071912PMG 65 EPQGem UncirculatedTop PopMuseum GradeR7 Extremely RareHistory

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Barbados 1943 Government of Barbados 100 Dollars unissued banknote design, front and back archival photographs, PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated

Barbados 1943 - Government of Barbados 100 Dollars, Front and Back Archival Photograph

This matched front and back pair is preserved in Paper Money Guaranty holders and graded 65 Gem Uncirculated. Archival photographic proofs of unissued Barbados banknote designs are exceptionally rare, and matched pairs constitute primary-source material of the highest research value for the study of Caribbean numismatics, British colonial administration, and wartime security printing. Read more →

BarbadosArchival Photograph1943100 DollarsPMG 65 Gem Uncirculated Archival PhotographUnissued Banknote DesignPick Unlisted100 DollarsGovernment of BarbadosBritish Colonial AdministrationKing George VIBradbury WilkinsonBWCDesign of Pick 6PMG 65Wartime Currency DesignCaribbean Monetary HistoryBritish West IndiesSecurity Printing HistoryPublic Finance HistoryBarbados1943Museum GradeR9 Extremely Rare

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Ireland 1920 Ulster Bank Limited 1 Pound proof, Pick 388p and UB39, serial A 00,005, graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated, with blue central denomination panel, maritime vignette, Belfast and Dublin border, and Charles Skipper and East Limited London printer imprint

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

The printer imprint at the lower margin reads Charles Skipper and East Limited, London, identifying the specialist security printer responsible for the engraved proof. PMG records only one graded example for Pick 388p, and this PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated proof is that sole recorded example. Its population 1 status places it at the highest visible rarity level for the catalog number and supports its classification as an R9 Extremely Rare proof survivor. Within the Ulster Bank Limited sequence, it stands as the earlier completed proof counterpart to the later Northern Ireland proof and specimen material, including the Pick 306p design family. Read more →

IrelandProof19201 PoundPMG 64 Choice Uncirculated ProofCompleted ProofPrivate Banknote IssueAuthorized Banknote IssueIrish Private BankSerial A 00,0051 PoundUlster BankUlster Bank LimitedBelfastDublinBlue Central Denomination PanelMaritime VignetteSailing ShipDockside SceneCharles Skipper and East LimitedCharles Skipper and East Limited LondonLondon Security PrinterBanknote PrintingSecurity PrintingEngraved ProofPrivate Banknote ProductionProof-stage MaterialPick 388pUB39Irish Banking HistoryPre-partition IrelandPrivate Banknote TraditionCommercial Banknote IssueIrish Financial HistoryEarly Twentieth Century Paper MoneyHistoryIreland1920PMG 64PMG 64 Choice UncirculatedTop PopPopulation 1R9 Extremely RareMuseum Grade

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Great Britain Derby Bank £5 proof, circa 1806–1812, engraved private bank issue payable via Samuel Smith & Co., PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated

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

The engraved text and layout illustrate early nineteenth-century security philosophy. Instead of relying on standardized printed templates, each bank commissioned bespoke designs featuring elaborate calligraphic lettering, ornamental flourishes, and heraldic devices. The bank crest at left, the sweeping script of the promise-to-pay clause, and the careful balance of negative space were all deliberate countermeasures against forgery at a time when counterfeit detection depended on human familiarity rather than machine verification. Read more →

Great BritainProof18065 PoundsPMG 63 Choice Uncirculated Proof5 PoundsPrivate Bank IssueProvincial BankingEarly British BanknotesNapoleonic War EraBank Restriction PeriodSecurity EngravingCalligraphic DesignPre Standardization CurrencyLondon Correspondent BankingGreat BritainDerby18061806–1812Pick UnlistedMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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Portugal 50 Mil Réis Specimen, ND (1917), Pick 110s, PMG 35

Portugal 1917 - Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis Specimen (Pick 110s)

The 50 Mil Réis embodied the young Republic’s drive to project prestige after the fall of the monarchy. Its monumental allegory-Commerce and Industry flanking the national arms-was conceived as wartime inflation eroded confidence in paper currency. Surviving specimens are exceedingly rare; the PMG census records only two graded examples of Pick 110s worldwide. Read more →

PortugalSpecimen191750 Mil RéisPMG 35 Choice Very Fine Portugal First RepublicPick 110sPick 110ND 1917High DenominationPortugal1917

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Portugal 50 Mil Réis front progressive proof, ND (1917), Pick 110pp1, PMG 25 EPQ

Portugal 1917 - Banco de Portugal 50 Mil Réis Front Progressive Proof (Pick 110pp1)

The EPQ designation is exceptional at this grade, indicating fully original paper quality and unaltered archival surfaces-critical for proofs that typically show handling or trimming. Only two examples of Pick 110pp1 appear in the PMG census, placing this among the rarest surviving Portuguese progressive proofs. Each intermediate pull was meant to be destroyed once calibration finished; very few escaped the printer’s vaults. This proof documents the engraver’s first successful alignment of the plate and thus predates the issued specimen by a critical production stage. Read more →

PortugalProgressive Proof191750 Mil RéisPMG 25 EPQ Very Fine Portugal First RepublicPick 110pp1ND 1917Pick 110Portugal1917

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Great Britain ca. 1904 Thomas Cook and Son 50 Dollars Circular Note photographic proof mounted on card stock with signature field and engraved security background

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

No comparable photographic proofs of the 50 Dollars Thomas Cook Circular Note are presently documented in grading records, institutional collections, auction archives, or published references. This absence of parallels establishes the piece as a unique surviving example of its type and a primary reference artifact for the study of early international travel finance. Read more →

Great BritainPhotographic Proof190450 DollarsPCGS 58 Choice About New Photographic Proof50 DollarsCircular NoteTravellers ChequeTravelers CheckSignature Verification InstrumentPrivate IssuePre Issue Production ProofMounted on Card StockThomas Cook and SonEarly Travellers Cheque SystemEarly Travelers Check SystemInternational Finance HistoryGlobal Payment SystemsEdwardian Security PrintingProofing and Plate ApprovalDesign Verification ArtifactGreat Britain1904Pick UnlistedMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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Great Britain ca. 1922 Thomas Cook & Son £5 Travellers Cheque photographic proof mounted on card stock, PCGS 63 Choice New

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

This example is a photographic proof, a distinct proofing format used to capture and evaluate the engraved face before commitment to full production printing. Photographic proofs were employed to assess engraving clarity, ornamental balance, typographic hierarchy, denomination placement, portrait treatment, and the overall visual integrity of the design. The sepia-toned image preserves the Thomas Cook and Son title banner, large denomination devices, dense geometric background, portrait vignette, payment wording, and signature areas in a clean production-review state. Read more →

Great BritainPhotographic Proof19225 PoundsPCGS 63 Choice New Photographic Proof5 PoundsTravellers ChequeTravelers CheckPrivate IssuePre Issue Production ProofMounted on Card StockThomas Cook and SonInternational Travel FinancePrivate Payment InstrumentsPost World War One FinanceSecurity PrintingDesign Verification ArtifactProofing ProcessGreat Britain1922Pick UnlistedMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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Great Britain ca. 1923 Thomas Cook & Son 100 Rupees Travellers Cheque photographic proof mounted on card stock, PCGS 62 New

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

This example is a photographic proof, a specialized proofing method used to evaluate engraving precision, typographic hierarchy, and ornamental balance before committing to mass printing. Photographic proofs were produced earlier than printed proofs and served as technical reference material for engravers, printers, and issuing authorities. They are not incomplete notes, but primary artifacts of the production workflow. Read more →

Great BritainPhotographic Proof1923100 RupeesPCGS 62 New Photographic ProofTravellers ChequeTravelers CheckPrivate IssuePre Issue Production ProofMounted on Card StockThomas Cook and SonImperial Travel FinanceBritish India Monetary SystemPrivate Payment InstrumentsSecurity PrintingDesign Verification ArtifactProofing ProcessGreat BritainBritish India1923Pick UnlistedMuseum GradeR9 Extremely RareUnique

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