Collection PL

Argentina 1866 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 1 Real Rosario Type A with Printed Signature Issued Note (PS1731, Bauman SFE 70)

This example represents the Type A variety identified by its printed authorization signature rather than a handwritten manuscript signature. The printed signature suggests a standardized authorization format prepared for larger scale circulation through the Rosario office as banking operations expanded throughout the Santa Fe region during the 1860s. Read more →

Argentina 1866 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 1 Real Rosario Type B with Hand Signature Issued Note (PS1731, Bauman SFE 70)

Most examples of the 1866 issue were redeemed and destroyed during Argentina's later monetary consolidation. Surviving notes therefore represent rare documentation of the formative stage of British-backed banking infrastructure in the country. Read more →

Poland 1936 - 50 Zlotych Reverse Progressive Proof (Pick 78pp2)

Progressive proofs are seldom encountered outside official archives. They were never intended for collectors, and their survival provides a rare, forensic view of how the Bank Polski and PWPW approached design refinement during Poland’s 1930s modernization campaign. Together with the finished Dąbrowski note, this proof completes the narrative - from concept to currency, from artistic ideal to national symbol. It stands today as a pristine artifact of Poland’s pre-war technical ingenuity and aesthetic ambition. Read more →

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

This color trial specimen represents a pre-issue production stage of the Central Bank of Libya 10 Dinars note introduced in 1971, prepared during the immediate post-monarchy redesign of the national currency. Following the establishment of the Libyan Arab Republic, royal imagery was formally removed and replaced with revolutionary-era symbolism, most prominently the portrait of Omar al-Mukhtar, positioned as a unifying national figure and ideological anchor of the new regime. Read more →

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

At the time of cataloging, this is the only certified intaglio vignette proof of Omar al-Mukhtar recorded for the Central Bank of Libya 1971 series. No additional examples are documented in grading census data, auction archives, institutional collections, or reference literature. Its rarity derives from production-stage uniqueness rather than condition scarcity. Read more →

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

The note was printed using established high-security intaglio techniques, with carefully balanced ink relief to preserve portrait detail under circulation conditions while maintaining durability at production speed. Multi-stone underprints provide tonal depth and counterfeit resistance, consistent with international security printing standards of the period. Read more →

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 →

Barbados 1943 - Government of Barbados 100 Dollars Prefix AA Front and Back Archival Photograph Pair (Pick Unlisted)

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 →

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 →

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

This proof was produced as part of the engraving and approval process, prior to circulation printing. Proofs of this era were not commercial products; they were working tools used to examine plate quality, letterform consistency, ink density, and overall legibility. Unlike issued notes, proofs were not meant to be redeemed and were typically retained by the printer or bank, making their survival highly exceptional. Read more →

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 →

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 →