Collection PL

Mauritius 1842 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled (Pick S122a)

A fully issued, hand-signed, and dated Mauritius Commercial Bank note - one of the earliest known examples of circulating paper money from the island. Dated 2 August 1842, this note bears manuscript signatures, serial numbers, and the characteristic oval CANCELLED stamps applied upon redemption. The engraving by Myers Frs. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1862 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 100 Pesos Specimen (Pick S245s)

This perforated specimen of the 1862 100 Pesos note was prepared for the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, among the earliest private commercial banks to operate in Uruguay and the wider River Plate region. Founded in Buenos Aires in 1862 with a Montevideo branch soon after, the bank served as a critical financial link between South American trade and British capital-handling customs revenue, shipping finance, and early railway projects. Engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. ... Read more →

Poland 1926 - Bank Polski 10 Zlotych Archival Watermarked Paper (Miłczak 64)

Blank paper stock prepared for the 1926 10 Zlotych issue, classified by PMG as Watermarked Paper. This piece represents the base security paper manufactured for the early interwar 10 Zł notes before the final design was printed. It bears the undated watermark reading 'Bolesław Chrobry 10 ZŁ' (Milczak type), positioned diagonally across the sheet and visible when held to light. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1939 - Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 50 Pesos Serie C Specimen, Specimen No. 9 (Pick 38bs)

Issued by the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay, this 1939 fifty pesos specimen preserves the completed Serie C form of one of the most visually distinctive denominations in Uruguay's interwar monetary program. Printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited, the note carries all-zero serial numbers, the separately assigned designation Specimen No. 9, a diagonal red SPECIMEN overprint, and oval printer control stamps that establish its official reference status. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1939 (1967 Authorization) - Banco Central del Uruguay 50 Pesos Serie D Specimen, Specimen No. 2 (Pick 42As)

Issued under the authority of the Banco Central del Uruguay, this fifty pesos specimen preserves the established 1939 design in the form authorized for use following the creation of Uruguay's new central banking institution in 1967. Printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited, the note carries the Serie D designation, all-zero serial numbers, the separately printed designation Specimen No. 2, a diagonal red SPECIMEN overprint, and oval printer control stamps applied across the completed design. ... Read more →

New South Wales 1865 - Embossed 'ONE HALF PERCENT' Stamp Duty Fiscal Proof Specimen

This archival embossed proof was prepared for the Treasury of the Colony of New South Wales in 1865 as part of the design approval process for official stamp duty revenue paper. The piece displays the crowned colonial arms surrounded by a laurel wreath with the inscription 'ONE HALF PERCENT', executed in colourless embossing and framed by printer’s blue layout guide lines with a printed 'Specimen' designation. Unlike adhesive revenue stamps, this form of fiscal authentication was produced as embossed security paper intended to validate legal and financial documents. ... Read more →

United States ca. 1970s – Giori Test Note – Jefferson Center, Black Front / Greenback Inverted Experimental Serial With Watermark

Experimental intaglio test note printed around the 1970s by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the Giori multicolor press system. Named for engineer Giovanni Giori, these sheets were used to evaluate multi-plate registration, color density, and press alignment on machinery that would later define modern currency production. The design known as the Jefferson Center joins engraved portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Ulysses S. ... Read more →

United States 1874 – 25 Cents Fourth Issue Fractional Currency Allison | Spinner Watermarked Paper 40mm Red Seal (Fr.1301)

The Fourth Issue of fractional currency, introduced between 1869 and 1875, marked the culmination of America’s Civil War–era experiment with small-denomination paper money. This twenty-five cent note (Friedberg 1301) bears the engraved signatures of Treasury officials John Allison and Francis Spinner and was printed by the National Bank Note Company of New York under government contract. Fractional notes such as this filled the coin shortage caused by hoarding of gold and silver during and after the war. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1939 - Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 1000 Pesos Specimen, Printed Cancel, Serie D, Specimen No. 23 (Pick 41cs)

Issued under the authority of the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay, this 1939 one thousand pesos specimen is an official reference example from Serie D, numbered Specimen No. 23. It records the completed appearance of one of the most imposing denominations in Uruguay's prewar paper currency system, preserved in specimen form for controlled administrative, banking, and archival use. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1939 - Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 1000 Pesos Specimen, Printed Cancel, Serie C, Specimen No. 2 (Pick 41bs)

This Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay one thousand pesos specimen is identified as Serie C, Specimen No. 2, placing it near the beginning of its numbered specimen sequence. Rather than serving as a general representation of the denomination, it is an individually numbered control piece documenting the Serie C form of the 1939 issue in its completed printed state. ... 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 →

United States 1875 - Fourth Issue Fractional Currency, 25 Cents, Watermarked Paper, 40mm Seal (Friedberg 1301, Allison-Spinner)

The Fourth Issue 25 Cents Fractional Currency note, cataloged as Friedberg 1301, represents the mature phase of the Civil War–era fractional paper money system. Fractional currency was introduced during the coin shortages of the early 1860s when hoarding of silver created a critical absence of small change in circulation. By the Fourth Issue, the United States Treasury had refined both design and anti-counterfeiting measures to a high degree of technical sophistication. ... Read more →