Collection PL

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Specimen with Red Overprint (Pick 5as)

The defining invalidation on this example is a single bold red diagonal SPECIMEN overprint applied across the face of the note. This classic specimen format represents the standard presentation form used by Thomas De La Rue for institutional reference and controlled distribution. No additional invalidation devices are present: there are no oval NO VALUE stamps, no perforations, and no punch cancellations. The absence of secondary control marks distinguishes this example from later or more heavily invalidated specimen forms. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Specimen with Perforated 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' (Pick 5as)

This specimen note represents the one dollar denomination prepared for the Cayman Islands Currency Board under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974 and was printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited, with the PMG label attributing the production to a not dated 1981 printing. The note was never intended for circulation and instead functioned as terminal archival reference material within the printer and issuing authority control framework. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Specimen with Red Overprint & Oval Stamp (Pick 5bs)

At the lower left margin, a printed tracking panel reading SPECIMEN No. 024 is present, recording the internal control number assigned to this specimen. The serial format consists of an all-zero number sequence with prefix A/3, followed by the control number 024, a configuration never used on issued notes and reserved exclusively for specimen accounting within the De La Rue workflow. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Specimen with Perforated 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' (Pick 5bs)

The serial format consists of an all-zero number sequence with prefix A/3, reserved exclusively for specimen handling and never used on issued notes. This serial structure, combined with the perforated invalidation, clearly situates the note within the final control phase of the Currency Board’s specimen management process. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 1 Dollar Specimen with Red Overprint (Pick 5s)

This specimen note represents the one dollar denomination prepared for the Cayman Islands Currency Board under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974 and was printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited, with the PMG label attributing the production to a not dated 1985 printing. It was produced as a presentation and institutional reference specimen and was never intended for public 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 →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 5 Dollars Specimen No. 017 with Red Overprint & Oval Stamp (Pick 6s)

On the obverse, Queen Elizabeth the Second’s portrait anchors the right side in dense intaglio linework, while the Cayman Islands coat of arms is integrated into the central denomination panel. Beneath the central panel appears the engraved signature of A. Jefferson as Chairman of the Cayman Islands Currency Board, linking this specimen to a specific administrative phase within the same 1974 series. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 5 Dollars Specimen with Perforated 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' (Pick 6s, 467/1–A2)

This example must be catalogued separately from its parallel A1 counterpart because its archival control notation differs. In the upper right margin the printer job notation reads “467/1–A2.” Along the lower margin the inscription reads “C.T. Wood 12.10.89 see notes on order form.” Within printer-archive material, such suffix differences are not minor: they represent distinct internal states, filing or review designations, and handling history. In a field where the engraved design is intentionally stable, these notations become the primary fingerprints of the object. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 5 Dollars Specimen with Perforated 'SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE' (Pick 6s, 467/1–A1)

The specimen carries the all-zero serial format with prefix A/1, a configuration reserved exclusively for specimen material and never used on circulation notes. Beneath the central denomination panel appears the engraved signature of A. Jefferson as Chairman of the Cayman Islands Currency Board, anchoring the piece within a specific administrative phase of the 1974 framework. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 5 Dollars Specimen No. 010 with Red Overprint & Oval Stamp (Pick 6s)

The reverse presents the maritime vignette characteristic of Cayman’s late twentieth-century issues, featuring a sailing vessel within a structured coastal landscape framed by ornamental denomination panels. De La Rue’s treatment of rigging, shoreline textures, water patterning, and geometric border work demonstrates the balance between aesthetic identity and security-printing discipline typical of British overseas territory currency production. Read more →

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

No serial numbers, legal text, signatures, or watermark positioning marks are present. The format confirms that this piece was never intended for circulation and instead functioned as internal design material used to assess tonal contrast, compositional balance, and engraving coherence prior to final production decisions. Read more →

Cayman Islands 1974 - Cayman Islands Currency Board 5 Dollars Issued Note (Pick 6a)

A key technical feature of the type is the turtle watermark, positioned within the unprinted field and visible when held to light. The watermark functions as both a national symbol and a primary authentication device within the cash-handling environment of a currency board system. Read more →