Collection

Italy 1871–72 — Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire (Specimen)

Oversized specimen of the short-lived Banca Italo-Germanica, engraved in the immediate aftermath of Italian unification. Founded in Rome with German capital, the bank intended to position itself as a bridge between northern European finance and the new Kingdom of Italy. In practice, its note-issuing project never advanced beyond archival and presentation pulls—no issued examples are known. ... Read more →

Australia 1879–1903 — Federal Bank of Australia £1 (Specimen, Annotated)

Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in London for the short-lived Federal Bank of Australia, this £1 specimen belongs to one of the rarest chapters of Australia’s pre-Federation banking history. The Federal Bank opened in 1881 and failed during the banking crisis of 1893, leaving only presentation and archival notes behind. ... Read more →

Australia 1905–1910 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney £5 (Specimen Proof)

Proof specimen printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. between 1905 and 1910 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney—one of Australia’s oldest and most respected private banks, founded in 1834. The CBC operated independently until its 1981 merger with the National Bank of Australasia, forming today’s NAB. ... Read more →

Argentina 1876 — Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte (Specimen)

Specimen printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. for the Banco de San Juan during Argentina’s expansion of provincially chartered banks in the 1870s. The 1 Peso Fuerte design reflects the distinct artistic language of the early British engravers active in Latin America, with refined lathe-work borders and a central condor vignette symbolizing vigilance and freedom. ... Read more →

Argentina 1876 — Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes (Specimen)

Companion specimen to the 1 Peso Fuerte, engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. for the Banco de San Juan. The 5 Pesos Fuertes note expands the artistic program with allegorical vignettes of Liberty, the national arms of Argentina, and native fauna—each rendered with the precision that defined Bradbury Wilkinson’s London workshop during the golden age of steel engraving. ... Read more →

Argentina 1883 — Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires 2 Pesos Oro (Proof)

Superb proof engraving prepared by the American Bank Note Company for the Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, dated 19 de Enero de 1883. The design features an equestrian vignette at center symbolizing progress and vitality, flanked by portraits of Florencio Varela and Valentín Alsina, two influential figures in Argentina’s political and intellectual life. Printed directly from ABNC master plates in black ink on thin India paper and mounted on card stock, this piece confirms its pre-issue proof status. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1872 — 100 Pesos = 10 Doblones (Specimen)

Archival specimen of the 1872 issue of the Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata, denominated 100 Pesos Nacionales with an explicit equivalence to 10 Doblones in gold. This dual denomination was highly unusual in Latin American numismatics, serving as both a circulating promise and a political declaration of Uruguay’s attempt to stabilize paper currency by anchoring it to a fixed gold standard. The experiment was short-lived: by the late 1870s the peso–doblón equivalence had collapsed, making surviving notes a tangible record of one of Uruguay’s boldest but least sustainable monetary policies. ... Read more →

Bolivia 1904 — Banco Nacional 5 Bolivianos (Specimen)

Specimen of the 1904 Banco Nacional de Bolivia 5 Bolivianos, engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. (BWC) in London. The note bears the date SUCRE, 1 de Enero de 1904, and features the portrait of Simón Bolívar at center—an enduring symbol of republican legitimacy. ... Read more →

Bolivia 1903 — Banco Agrícola 5 Bolivianos (Proof Pair)

Matched front and back printer’s proofs attributed to the American Bank Note Company, both graded PMG 63. These proofs were prepared as final design studies before mass production, allowing the printer and issuing bank to review alignment, color, and engraving detail prior to signature placement or numbering. The 5 Bolivianos design reflects Bolivia’s early 20th-century drive to modernize its financial infrastructure following the Federal Revolution of 1899. ... Read more →

Poland 1936 — 50 Zlotych Progressive Proof (Pick 78pp2, CM#77c) Reverse Only

Progressive proof of the reverse design for the 1936 50 Zlotych issue, showing the allegorical worker group. Printed by the Państwowa Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych (PWPW) in Warsaw as part of the preparation for the new higher-denomination series. Progressive proofs were trial impressions used to evaluate engraving stages before final approval — most were never meant to survive outside the archives of the printer. ... Read more →

Libya ND (1971–72) — 10 Dinars (Color Trial Specimen)

Pre-issue color workup from the immediate post-monarchy redesign program, when the new Central Bank replaced royal iconography with Omar al-Mukhtar. Color trials like this were printed to test the interaction between the intaglio key plate and multiple tint stones: librarians of the pressroom would compare flesh tones, sky/sand palettes, and the legibility of micro-ornament under different ink loads. Because the portrait carries heavy cross-hatching, the printer balanced the underprint density to keep the face from closing up at production speeds. ... Read more →

Libya ND (1971–72) — 10 Dinars (Specimen, Pick 37s)

Official pre-issue specimen for the first republican 10 Dinars, with red SPECIMEN overprint and 000000 controls. Specimens were circulated to ministries, bank branches, and correspondents to standardize cash-handling and check the pressroom’s final plate state before the production run. This example sits at the point where the engraver’s portrait, guilloche network, and underprint palette were frozen for circulation. ... Read more →