Collection PL

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

An exceptional and academically important survival from the experimental phase of Italy’s early post-unification banking era, this 250 Lire specimen from the short-lived Banca Italo-Germanica, cataloged as Pick S976s, represents one of the rarest and most ambitious private note-issuing projects attempted in Rome during the 1870s. No issued examples of this type are known to exist, and all scholarship indicates that the bank’s banknote program collapsed before any notes entered circulation, leaving only a microscopic number of presentation pulls, proofs, or internal printer’s archive sheets. This PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated example is the sole graded specimen in the PMG census, making it both Top Pop and Only Pop. Read more →

Italy 1871 - Standing Italia used on Banca Italo-Germanica 250 Lire Vignette Die Proof

The imagery belongs closely to the political setting of the period. Italian unification had been completed only shortly before, with Rome incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy in 1870 and established as the national capital in 1871. The personification of Italia therefore carried immediate national meaning, combining classical allegory, heraldry and contemporary state identity within a commercial banking design. Read more →

Paraguay 1907 - 100 Pesos with 1912 Dual-Side State and Treasury Revalidation Overprint Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Certified PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated, this specimen preserves the emergency overprints with remarkable clarity. The face overprint remains bold across the central vignette and upper field, while the reverse Junta Fiscalizadora validation is fully legible and visually dominant. The paper, margins, and printed detail make the note an unusually strong reference example for studying the relationship between the 1907 Banco de la República issue, the 1912 state emission, and the later fiscal control process. For a note type born from crisis, administrative improvisation, and limited surviving documentation, this level of preservation is extraordinary. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 100 Reales Vellon Serie A No. 23327 Full Sheet with Header and Talon Specimen (Pick S451s)

This specimen forms a matched pair with the issued Serie A banknote No. 23322 (Pick S451b) also held in the collection (see item 'spain-1857-banco-de-zaragoza-100-reales-serie-a-23322-issued-note'), together documenting both the specimen and circulation forms of the 1857 Zaragoza emission. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 200 Reales Vellon Serie B No. 07887 Full Sheet with Header and Talon Specimen (Pick S452s)

This specimen forms a matched typological pair with the standard specimen Serie B, No. 07958 (Pick S452s) also in the collection, together documenting both the production-sheet format and the standard specimen format of the 200 reales vellón emission. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 500 Reales Vellon Serie C No. 08703 Full Sheet with Header and Talon Specimen (Pick S453s)

Pick S453s designates the specimen variety for this denomination, separate from the issued form (S453a) and from any remainder material. The engraving reflects the Madrid-school aesthetic: a detailed Spanish coat of arms, complex acanthus ornamentation, and the formal promise text payable in Zaragoza. The talón repeats the number 08703, confirming internal pairing typical of 19th-century Spanish emission control. Read more →

New Zealand 1895-1908 - Bank of New Zealand £10 Brown with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S193bs)

Engraved and printed in London between 1895 and 1908 by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company, Limited, the note reflects mature late-Victorian engraving practice. The obverse composition features paired Māori figures, a maritime vignette, and a structured brown duty-tint guilloche frame associated with upper-denomination issues. The brown coloration forms part of the Bank of New Zealand’s chromatic system, positioned alongside the one pound green and five pounds orange within the BNZ color lineage. Read more →

New Zealand 1916-1920 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Red-Rose (Orange Lineage) with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S227s)

This specimen is a reference-grade artifact of New Zealand monetary history, combining wartime production context, live serial numbering, internal control markings, and documented survival from the Bank of New Zealand’s private-issue period. Certified PMG 65 EPQ Gem Uncirculated, it is the sole PMG-certified example at this grade and Top Pop. R8 rarity. Read more →

New Zealand 1913 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Multi-Serial Approval Specimen (Pick S192ms)

Within the BNZ color lineage, the £5 Orange occupies the central position between the £1 Green and the higher-denomination £10 Brown. This warm-toned middle tier served as a long-standing visual identifier for the denomination across decades of private-bank issuance. The continued use of orange into the 1910s demonstrates Bradbury Wilkinson’s commitment to chromatic continuity even as engraving practices evolved. Read more →

Australia 1905–1910 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Specimen Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Unlisted in Pick and graded PMG 63 EPQ Choice Uncirculated (Top Pop), this specimen marks the transition from private colonial issues to the newly centralised Commonwealth currency introduced after 1910. It reflects both the confidence of early-twentieth-century Australian banking and the enduring partnership between London engravers and Australian financial institutions. Read more →

Australia 1880-1889 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited £5 with Serial Prefix SPECIMEN (Pick Unlisted, MVR4a)

The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, founded in 1834, was among Australia’s most influential private banks during the colonial period. High-denomination notes such as this £5 played a central role in interbank settlement and wholesale finance, making specimen material a critical part of the bank’s operational infrastructure. Read more →

Australia 1900 - Bank of New South Wales £20 Sydney Circular Note Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This £20 Sterling Circular Note specimen was prepared for The Bank of New South Wales at Sydney as a portable international banking instrument connecting Australian customers with the bank's London office and correspondent banking network. The printed form belongs to the 20th-century series identified by the open date field "19__" and preserves the complete unused structure through which a traveler could obtain funds while abroad. Read more →