Collection PL

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

Addressed to Dr. Tawfiq Hajjar in Cairo, the letter opens with the formal Melkite invocation of peace and apostolic blessing. However, its content is explicitly political, offering a rare glimpse into the diplomatic and intercessory functions of the Patriarchate during the final months of World War II and immediately before the proclamation of Lebanese independence (November 1943). Hajjar had requested patriarchal support for his appointment as a Lebanese political representative in the Egyptian kingdom. Cyril IX acknowledges this request and commends Hajjar’s standing among Cairo’s senior figures, noting that his reputation strengthens the legitimacy of the proposed appointment. Read more →

New Zealand 1905-1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red with Serial Number Prefix G000001-G100000 Cancelled Perforation Specimen (Pick S212bs)

The G000001–G100000 range functioned as the opening control block within a structured multi-block printing order. Archival evidence indicates continuation with G100001–G300000, followed by an alphabetical transition to E300001–E400000. The pencilled annotation dated 19 January 1915 on the selvage aligns with Bradbury Wilkinson internal press-balance markings and confirms late–World War I handling of this material. Read more →

Poland 1940 - 10 Zlotych Contemporary Counterfeit with WERTLOS Stamp (Pick 94x)

While many forgeries were crude, this example shows refined guilloché and engraving quality approaching official work, illustrating the skill level of wartime forgers operating under extreme conditions. Such notes were used both for subversion and emergency financing, adding a layer of historical intrigue. Read more →

Poland 1940 - 10 Zlotych Bank Emisyjny Series F Giesecke & Devrient (Pick 94a)

This example carries the Series F prefix, a significantly scarcer prefix of the 10 Złotych issue and cataloged as Milczak 94aF. Read more →

Poland 1940 - 10 Zlotych Printing Remnants Forgery Workshop Underprint (Miłczak 94)

Fascinating semi-finished product from a wartime forgery workshop, connected with the 10 złotych 1940 issue (Miłczak 94). The piece is printed only with the underprint of the obverse design - background guilloches and the female allegorical portrait at left - without the main face value, overprints, or full intaglio elements. Trimmed to the correct banknote format, it represents an intermediate stage in the counterfeiting process. Read more →

Poland 1940 - 500 Zlotych, Series A with Counterfeit Numbering Issued Note (Pick 98a)

A 1319803 documents an unusual consequence of that operation: an authentic Bank Emisyjny w Polsce banknote whose legitimate serial number became associated with clandestine wartime production. Certified PMG 15 Choice Fine, the note retains the characteristic design of the 1940 500 złotych issue, dominated by the portrait of a Góral highlander that gave the denomination its popular name, "Góral." As a genuine note surviving from the compromised 13xxxxx sequence, it provides direct material evidence of the point at which ordinary circulating currency, resistance activity and wartime monetary control intersected in occupied Poland. Read more →

Poland 1940 - 20 Zlotych, Series N WWII London Counterfeit (Pick 95b)

20 złotych dated 1 March 1940, issued under the Bank Emisyjny w Polsce during the German occupation, here from Series N - a rarer subtype known as the 'WWII London Counterfeit' (LC). This variety is recognized by its distinct olive-toned underprint, setting it apart from the more common genuine emissions. PMG has described this piece as a diversionary counterfeit, aligning it with the series of clandestine productions created to destabilize the wartime Polish economy. Read more →

Poland 1940 - 500 Zlotych Series B Unfinished Print Fragment (Pick 98)

As surviving production material, the note offers an unusual view into the manufacture of Bank Emisyjny w Polsce currency during the Second World War. The relationship between the surviving Highlander watermark and the absent printed Highlander portrait adds a particularly clear visual record of what had and had not yet been completed. Combined with the otherwise undocumented 20xxxxx Series B numbering, it makes the note a significant research piece for reconstructing the production history of the 1940 500 złotych issue. Read more →

Fiji 1942 - 1 Pound Government of Fiji Overprint on New Zealand £1 (Pick 45c)

This one pound note issued for Fiji in 1942 was created by overprinting an existing Reserve Bank of New Zealand £1 note originally dated 1 August 1934. The base note was printed by Thomas De La Rue & Company in London for circulation in New Zealand, but during the Second World War it was adapted for emergency use within the British colony of Fiji. Read more →

Ireland 1939–40 - Belfast Banking Company Limited £1 (Pick 126b)

PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated signals near‑uncirculated eye appeal with only the lightest handling-excellent quality for a type that saw regular commercial use at the onset of World War II. Read more →

Egypt 1911 - The Odeon Hall, Cairo Gold Watch Repair Invoice

The Odeon Hall belonged to a wave of cosmopolitan commercial houses operating in Cairo in the years before World War I, many owned or managed by Armenian, Greek, Syrian, and European families. These firms introduced modern retail practices and new technologies-gramophones, recorded music, optical goods, imported machines-while still offering traditional services like watch and clock repair. Their hybrid business model created a commercial culture that blended Middle Eastern craftsmanship with fast-growing European industrial products. Read more →

Egypt 1912 - Allen, Alderson & Co. Machinery Agents, Alexandria (Illustrated Letterhead)

Illustrated engineering letterheads of this calibre are exceedingly rare in Egypt. Most were discarded after administrative use or lost during business closures and urban redevelopment. This 1912 example-dated, signed, fully intact, and carrying multiple machine engravings-stands as a museum-level artifact documenting the transfer of British industrial technology to Egypt at a pivotal moment before World War I, when mechanisation began reshaping agriculture, transport, and industry across the country. Read more →