Collection PL

Egypt 1943 - Cyril IX Moghabghab, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch (Signed Patriarchal Letter, Alexandria)

The document concludes with a bold handwritten dip-pen signature 'كيرلس التاسع' (Cyril IX), exhibiting natural ink pooling, pressure variation, and letterform irregularity consistent with authentic 1940s signatures. Its combination of full header, registry marks, complete typed content, and strong autograph make it one of the finest extant examples of Cyril IX’s correspondence. Read more →

Uruguay 1872 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 100 Pesos = 10 Doblones Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

At the time of writing, this is the only documented specimen of the 1872 100 Pesos = 10 Doblones type. No additional specimens are known in private collections, institutional holdings, or grading census records. The note is unlisted in Pick and absent from all major published catalogues, reflecting its survival outside the normal catalogued population rather than any provisional or trial status. Read more →

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

Among recorded Paraguayan emergency issues, the dual-side state and treasury revalidation format is virtually in a class of its own. It is not simply another overprint variety. It is a surviving document of how Paraguay attempted to defend official monetary credibility at a moment when ordinary paper value, legal value, and gold-referenced value were no longer the same thing in practice. The second overprint is therefore the key historical feature: it confirms that this note was not only reissued, but reviewed, fiscalized, and tied back to the higher official “Diez Pesos Oro Sellado” standard. As a Pick-unlisted specimen, base Pick 159, and R9 Extremely Rare survivor, it stands as a museum-grade crown piece of Paraguayan emergency paper money. Read more →

China 1880 - Sinkiang Textile Emergency Currency Cloth Note (Pick Unlisted)

This textile emergency currency from Sinkiang belongs to the late Qing frontier monetary tradition, when regional authorities relied on locally produced substitutes in response to chronic shortages of official coin and paper money. Executed on coarse red-dyed cloth and printed by hand-carved woodblocks, the note reflects a monetary environment shaped by isolation, logistical constraints, and reliance on pre-modern administrative practices. Read more →

China 1915 - South Sinkiang Border Defence Headquarters 1 Tael Textile Emergency Issue (Pick Unlisted)

This 1 tael textile banknote represents a formally authorized military emergency issue produced in 1915 by the South Sinkiang Border Defence Headquarters during a period of severe administrative and monetary fragmentation in western China. Issued within the southern frontier zone encompassing Khotan, Yarkand, and Karghalik, the note reflects a localized system of fiscal control exercised by military authorities operating with substantial autonomy from central government structures. Read more →

China 1918 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth, Local Authority Issue (Pick Unlisted)

As a historical artifact, this cloth note documents how monetary authority adapted under extreme frontier conditions, substituting material, format, and production method to maintain basic economic function. It stands as direct evidence of how currency operated at the margins of state control in early twentieth-century Xinjiang. Read more →

China 1920 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth, Local Authority Issue (Pick Unlisted)

On the basis of observable evidence, this specific textile issue has no documented catalog entry, institutional reference, or known parallel example. Under the collection’s evidence-based classification system, it is treated as a single known example at present and classified as R9. Read more →

China 1921 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth with Sun Emblem (Pick Unlisted)

Textile emergency currency of this type was issued as functional money for everyday transactions, provisioning, and local settlement in environments where conventional paper currency was unavailable or impractical. Once monetary conditions stabilized and centralized systems expanded, such cloth notes were withdrawn and destroyed, resulting in extremely low survival rates. Read more →

China 1922 - Xinjiang Textile Emergency Currency Printed on Red Cloth, Local Authority Issue (Pick Unlisted)

No catalog listing, institutional reference, or documented parallel example corresponding to this specific textile type is known. Under the collection’s evidence-based classification system, this note is treated as a single known example at present and classified as R9. Read more →

China 1924 - Dihua Official Coin Bureau 40 Wen Textile Emergency Issue (Pick Unlisted)

The official status of this issue is confirmed by institutional preservation. One documented example is held by the British Museum, establishing that the 40 wen textile note was produced under governmental authority rather than as a private or ceremonial object. Together with the present specimen, this represents the full extent of currently documented examples. 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)

Colouration is restrained compared to later proof or finished production states, indicating an earlier stage in the approval or validation process. Engraving quality, paper, and layout correspond to Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. master production standards for Australian private banks at the close of the nineteenth century. Read more →