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Martinique 1870 Banque de la Martinique 1 franc cheque recovered from the ruins of Saint-Pierre after the 1902 Mount Pelée eruption, with contemporary handwritten provenance notes

Martinique 1870 - Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Cheque Recovered After the 1902 Mount Pelée Eruption (Pick P.5A)

Crucially, this cheque bears multiple handwritten annotations in period ink on both the face and reverse, transforming it from a dormant banking form into a documented historical artifact. On the face, contemporary handwriting states that the cheque was “Found after the eruption in 1902,” directly linking the object to the destruction of Saint-Pierre. Additional manuscript notes reference the event and date, confirming that the writing was applied shortly after the catastrophe and not as a later retrospective addition. Read more →

MartiniqueDisaster Recovery Cheque18701 FrancVery Fine Disaster Recovery Cheque1 FrancBanque de la MartiniqueMount Pelee EruptionSaint Pierre DestructionColonial Bank RuinsPick P.5AColonial Banking HistoryFrench Overseas TerritoriesCaribbean Monetary HistoryNineteenth Century BankingDisaster Recovered ArtifactDocumentary Financial InstrumentsSecurity Printing HistoryFrench Engraving TraditionMartinique18701902Museum GradeR9 Extremely RareUniqueAnnotationsHandwritten Annotations
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Martinique 1870 Banque de la Martinique 1 franc unissued cheque, Saint-Pierre issue, unused condition

Martinique 1870 - Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Unissued Cheque (Pick P.5A)

An unissued cheque for one franc prepared for the Banque de la Martinique and intended for use at Saint-Pierre, dating from the early period of organized colonial banking on the island. Classified as Pick P.5A, this form represents a non-circulating banking instrument rather than a circulating banknote, designed for internal settlement, account debiting, and controlled monetary transfers within the colonial financial system.

Italy 1871–1872 Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire specimen, Pick S976s, Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., PMG 64 Top Pop

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

The survival of this particular note is itself remarkable. Oversized, fragile, and produced on early BWC security paper, such pieces were highly vulnerable to destruction. Most unadopted private note designs were discarded by banks, burned during liquidation, or lost during institutional mergers. Specimens from failed Italian banknote issuers of the 1870s are almost nonexistent, and the Banca Italo-Germanica ranks among the most elusive of them all.

Australia 1877 City of Melbourne Bank Limited £20 specimen engraved by Bradbury Wilkinson, PMG 62 Uncirculated, unique surviving example

Australia 1877 - City of Melbourne Bank Limited £20 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

A unique surviving specimen of the £20 denomination issued by the City of Melbourne Bank Limited, representing one of the highest-value private banknotes produced in colonial Victoria. Printed from Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. master plates, this note belongs to the final generation of Australian private banknote engraving before national standardization and the destruction of nearly all high-denomination material.

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