Collection PL

Uruguay 1939 - Departamento de Emisión del Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 100 Pesos Photographic Proof Pair (Pick Unlisted)

The reverse depicts the Palacio Legislativo in Montevideo, presented in precise architectural perspective. The choice of subject underscores institutional stability and civic order, translating national identity into architectural form rather than allegorical abstraction. Read more →

Uruguay 1935 - Departamento de Emisión del Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 500 Pesos Large-Format Presentation Photo Proof Pair (Pick Unlisted)

The obverse features a classical female head in profile within an elaborate architectural and ornamental framework, accompanied by the full denomination and national arms. The enlarged photographic format allows close examination of engraving density, line structure, and tonal balance, showcasing American Bank Note Company’s mature interwar engraving style. Read more →

Jersey 1840 - Bible Christian Church, Royal Crescent £1 Remainder (Pick Unlisted)

Unissued £1 remainder note of the Bible Christian Church, Royal Crescent, Jersey - a rare surviving artifact from the early 19th-century Methodist movement on the Channel Islands. Printed in blue on thin, high-quality wove paper with a large circular watermark, the piece was intended as a church-backed promissory note payable in British Sterling, guaranteed by the trustees of the congregation. 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 →

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. Read more →

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

The physical condition of the cheque further supports its recovery narrative. The paper exhibits uniform toning, softened fibers, and surface wear consistent with exposure to heat, ash, moisture, and handling in a post-disaster environment. Folding patterns and overall texture differ markedly from pristine unissued examples, aligning instead with an object that survived a catastrophic event rather than archival storage. Read more →

South Africa 1828 - Cape of Good Hope Bank 5 Shillings Pre-Issue Sample (Pick S171p)

This five shillings note was prepared as a pre-authorization sample while the bank’s founder, John Bardwell Ebden, awaited official government permission to establish the institution. Such samples were not intended for circulation, but rather served as formal demonstration pieces presented to colonial authorities, prospective shareholders, and financial backers to validate design, denomination structure, and institutional credibility. As a result, this issue was never released into circulation and must be distinguished categorically from later remainders or unissued stock associated with operating banks. Read more →

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

This note is an unissued remainder of the Montagu Bank five pounds denomination, produced in the early 1860s during the brief operational life of one of the Cape Colony’s most distinctive private commercial banks. As the highest denomination authorized by the Montagu Bank, the five pounds issue occupied the uppermost tier of the institution’s monetary structure and was intended for large commercial settlements, capital transactions, and internal accounting rather than routine daily exchange. Read more →

United States 1854 - Empire City Bank 100 Dollars Proof (Pick NY1585G16P)

This one hundred dollars proof must therefore be understood not as a failed issue or unissued remainder, but as a controlled institutional artifact documenting the mechanics of private banknote design, engraving, and presentation in the pre Civil War United States. It stands as museum grade evidence of how American private banks projected credibility and authority through engraved paper money in an era before centralized monetary control. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1970 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Unissued Back Photographic Proof

This unissued photographic proof represents the back design prepared for the one dollar denomination of the Cayman Islands Currency Board during the late colonial monetary period around 1970. The object survives as a standalone design-stage artifact and documents a phase in which the reverse layout, ornamental balance, and security composition were evaluated independently as a complete surface in its own right. 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 →

Cayman Islands 1970 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 5 Dollars Unissued Back Photographic Proof

This unissued photographic proof represents the reverse design prepared for the five dollars denomination of the Cayman Islands Currency Board during the transitional monetary planning period around 1970. The piece survives as a standalone back design proof and documents a stage at which the reverse composition was evaluated independently before any finalized pairing with an approved obverse. Read more →