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 →

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

This item consists of a matched pair of archival photographic prints documenting the front and back designs of an unissued 100 Dollars banknote for Barbados, dated 1943 and produced under British colonial administration. The photographs record a complete banknote design that did not proceed to production or circulation and survive as internal visual documentation rather than monetary instruments. Read more →

Macau 1937 - Foo Hang Bank 10 Patacas Archival Printer Proof Compound Sheet (Pick S105)

Foo Hang Bank operated in Macau during a period when the territory functioned as a distinct monetary and commercial enclave within southern China. As a Portuguese-administered port with deep ties to regional trade networks, Macau maintained a semi-autonomous banking environment in which local institutions issued currency tailored to cross-border commerce, silver settlement, and regional circulation needs. Banknotes produced for Macau in the interwar period reflect this hybrid monetary reality, combining Chinese commercial practice with colonial administrative oversight. Read more →

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

The Montagu Bank ultimately failed after only a few years of operation, closing its doors in 1868 following sustained financial losses. Subsequent ownership passed to the African Banking Corporation, whose assets were later absorbed by Standard Bank. The short lifespan of the Montagu Bank places its surviving documentary material, including unissued banknotes, firmly within the context of institutional failure and liquidation rather than long-term circulation. Read more →

Poland 1928 - Bank Polski 20 Zlotych Archival Watermarked Paper (Miłczak 67)

Archival watermarked paper prepared by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited in London for the unissued Bank Polski 20 Zlotych banknote dated 2 January 1928. This piece preserves the original production substrate for the note: the security paper with multitone portrait watermark, before banknote printing. It is not a printed banknote, but a surviving archival component from one of the most important unrealized Polish banknote projects of the interwar period. Read more →

Luxembourg 1982 - 20 Francs Specimen Unissued Series (Pick 54As)

Specimen of the unissued 1982 twenty francs series of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, printed by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company as part of a fully prepared emergency banknote program. This example, serial A000000 099, represents a complete and finalized design held at the specimen stage, with no corresponding issued notes known for the type. Read more →

Barbados 1968 - Bank of Barbados 5 Dollars Prefix AA Front and Back Archival Photograph (Pick Unlisted)

This item consists of a matched pair of archival photographic prints documenting the front and back designs of a proposed 5 Dollars banknote for Barbados, dated to approximately 1968 and produced by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company Limited of New Malden, Surrey, England. The pair preserves a transitional and apparently abandoned currency concept carrying the issuer name Bank of Barbados, a title that does not correspond to the formal issuing authority ultimately adopted by the country. Read more →