Collection PL

New Caledonia 1871 - French Treasury Second of Exchange for 2,000 Francs (Service des Colonies)

The bill was drawn by the *Caissier Payeur central du Trésor public (Service des Colonies)* and made payable to order in New Caledonia for the sum of two thousand francs. Dated in Paris on 22 August 1871, it belongs to the immediate post–Franco-Prussian War period, when French state finances were being reorganized and colonial treasury control was reasserted through formal, document-based instruments rather than circulating currency. Read more →

United States 1844 - Bank of Florida - Tallahassee 4 Dollars, State Bank Note, Final Revival Issue, FL-65-G26

Engraving for this issue is attributable to Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson, the predecessor firm to the American Bank Note Company. This attribution is supported by later archival material and aligns stylistically with mid-nineteenth-century American banknote engraving conventions. The face design employs classical allegorical figures and commercial imagery intended to project continuity, legitimacy, and economic order at a moment when the issuing institution itself was financially unstable. Read more →

South Africa 1861 - Montagu Bank 5 Pounds Remainder (Pick S231r)

The survival of five pounds remainders such as this example is directly linked to the bank’s collapse. Archival evidence and later historical accounts indicate that stocks of printed but unissued notes were not destroyed during the winding-up process. As a result, remainder material escaped the normal cycle of circulation, redemption, and withdrawal, preserving high-denomination examples that would otherwise have been lost. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Specimen with Perforated 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' (Pick 5bs)

Certified PMG 64, this specimen documents the perforated archival control format applied to Cayman Islands Currency Board notes during the Jefferson-signed phase of the one dollar series. Its significance lies in preserving direct evidence of late twentieth-century specimen invalidation practice, illustrating how fully authorized designs were deliberately withdrawn from monetary function for institutional recordkeeping. Read more →

Uruguay 1939 - Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 500 Pesos Specimen Printed Cancel Serie D Specimen No. 12 (Pick 40cs)

The obverse is dominated by the formal name of the Republica Oriental del Uruguay and the central QUINIENTOS PESOS denomination. The design draws its authority from scale and structure: monumental lettering, engraved architectural frames, repeated numerals, fine geometric fields, and a carefully balanced division between the watermark area at left and the portrait vignette at right. Read more →

Uruguay 1896 - Banco Nacional de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 20 Centesimos Issued Note PAGADO 25.8.96 Perforation Cancel, Serial L084390 (Pick A88b)

As a dated PAGADO 25.8.96 perforation cancel, this note documents a precise moment of institutional redemption within Uruguay's late nineteenth century banking system. It preserves both the intact engraved design and the official retirement action, providing direct physical evidence of payment, accounting control, and currency withdrawal procedures within the Banco Nacional structure. Read more →

United States 1928 - 20 Dollars Gold Certificate (Friedberg 2402, AA Block), PMG 50 EPQ About Uncirculated

Issued prior to the suspension of gold redemption in 1933, small-size Gold Certificates such as this example were subsequently withdrawn from circulation and largely recalled. Surviving pieces therefore represent a tangible link to the final chapter of gold-convertible United States currency. Read more →

United States 1922 - 20 Dollars Gold Certificate (Friedberg 1187), PMG 20 Very Fine

Issued in 1922, this type was part of the final wave of large-format gold certificates printed before the comprehensive redesign and size reduction of 1928. Following the Gold Recall of 1933, circulating Gold Certificates were withdrawn and made illegal to hold, significantly reducing the surviving population. As a result, extant examples serve as tangible artifacts of the pre-Depression gold redemption system. Read more →

Confederate States of America 1864 - CSA No Denomination Archival Watermarked Paper

Unlike printed notes, this specimen preserves the raw paper substrate before engraving and overprint were applied. The absence of denomination and serial number confirms its role as base security stock rather than a finished instrument of circulation. The watermark is impressed directly into the paper fibers during manufacture, serving both as anti-counterfeiting protection and as an assertion of Confederate governmental authority. Read more →

New Zealand 1968 - 1 Dollar Wilks Signature Perforated 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' Specimen Serial 5J000000 (Pick 163bs)

Unlike the overprint presentation type, this piece carries the legend 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' perforated across the design, with no red diagonal overprint, no De La Rue oval control stamps, and no punch-hole cancellation. Perforated specimens were retained internally by Thomas De La Rue & Company for record and archival verification rather than prepared for external distribution. Their survival rate is limited, as most were withdrawn or destroyed once production advanced into later signature periods. Read more →

New Zealand 1975 - 1 Dollar Knight Signature Replacement Star Note Serial Y91304453* (Pick 163c*)

The 1975 one-dollar Replacement Star Note belongs to the R.L. Knight signature period of New Zealand’s decimal currency system and was issued within the 1975-1977 production range. Unlike ordinary circulation notes, replacement notes were created as reserve substitutes for spoiled or defective sheets discovered during manufacture. Their purpose was practical and highly controlled: to preserve accounting integrity and maintain the required note count when damaged pieces were withdrawn before release. For collectors, that functional role gives replacement notes a distinct identity within the issuing series, separating them from both standard issued notes and specimen formats. Read more →

Australia 1929 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited - Circular Letter of Credit Photographic Proof (Mounted on Cardstock, PCGS 64 Very Choice New)

This photographic proof represents a Circular Letter of Credit issued by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited during the late interwar period, forming part of an international financial system that enabled secure cross-border access to funds. Unlike Letters of Introduction, which served primarily as identity credentials, the Letter of Credit functioned as a direct monetary instrument, allowing the holder to withdraw funds abroad through a structured and verifiable process. It stands as a precursor to modern traveler’s checks and early credit-based financial systems. Read more →