Collection PL

New Zealand 1907–1926 - Bank of New Zealand £20 Blue Serial-Prefix Audit Specimen (Pick S194s)

The PMG 55 About Uncirculated grade is exceptionally high for a large-format, soft-paper audit specimen. With Pop 1/1 status and no evidence of any additional audit-range examples in institutional or private holdings, this piece stands as the definitive reference for the BNZ £20 issue and a cornerstone artifact of New Zealand’s pre–Reserve Bank monetary history. Read more →

Poland 1926 - 10 Zlotych Bolesław Chrobry 992–1025 Watermark Remainder (Pick 65br)

As a consequence of this change, paper bearing the original Chrobry 992–1025 watermark was used only during the initial phase of printing and in limited quantity. Once the simplified denomination watermark was adopted, remaining sheets of the earlier paper no longer served a monetary purpose. Read more →

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

Official Patriarchal letter dated 17 September 1943 and issued from the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate residence in Fleming–Ramleh, Alexandria. Typed on cream chancery paper with faint laid lines and bearing the crowned Patriarchal emblem at upper right, the document is internally registered as 'عدد 305' and 'سجل 16,' confirming it as an authenticated in-period chancery file copy. Read more →

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

This distinction is central to understanding the rarity and historical value of the piece. A single-face overprint could identify a note as part of the emergency state emission, but the additional reverse validation created a second layer of control. It linked the note directly to the fiscal board responsible for supervising the state’s monetary obligations and for separating verified notes from unverified or less formally processed material. The reverse wording “Diez Pesos Oro Sellado” is not incidental. It deliberately echoes the gold-value clause printed on the original 1907 design, reinforcing that this selected note remained connected to the higher official monetary standard even while ordinary paper pesos were under severe pressure. Read more →

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

At present, only one example of this specific 1 tael textile issue is documented. There are no confirmed specimens recorded in the holdings of the British Museum, the American Numismatic Society, the Smithsonian Institution, or major Chinese public collections. No repeat auction appearances or archival groupings are known. On the basis of observable, verifiable evidence alone, the issue qualifies as R9 - unique. Read more →

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

An issued textile emergency currency produced in Xinjiang (Sinkiang) during the early Republican period, printed by hand from carved woodblocks onto red-dyed cotton cloth. This note represents a locally authorized substitute currency created for circulation under conditions of monetary instability, material shortage, and fragmented administrative control in China’s western frontier. Read more →

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

The design is executed in dark ink directly on fabric, with the weave of the cloth clearly visible through the printed impression. A framed central inscription panel is surrounded by ornamental borders incorporating vegetal motifs and a stylized wave band along the lower register. The printing exhibits uneven ink saturation and localized strike variation, consistent with hand-cut woodblocks and manual printing methods rather than mechanized presses. Read more →

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

An issued textile emergency currency produced in Xinjiang (Sinkiang) during the early Republican period, printed by hand from carved woodblocks onto red-dyed cotton cloth. This note represents a distinct local issue within the Xinjiang textile tradition, created for circulation under conditions of monetary instability, limited access to paper currency, and decentralized administrative control in China’s western frontier. Read more →

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

Textile emergency currency of this type was issued as functional money for everyday transactions, provisioning, and local settlement. Once monetary conditions stabilized, such notes were routinely withdrawn and destroyed, accounting for their extreme scarcity today. 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 →

New Zealand 1916-1920 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Red-Rose (Orange Lineage) with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S227s)

A wartime £5 specimen of the Bank of New Zealand, printed in London by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. during the 1916–1920 production cycle. The note carries live serial numbering and survives as an internal audit and approval piece from a numbered print run, distinct from zero-serial display specimens. Read more →

New Zealand 1913 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Multi-Serial Approval Specimen (Pick S192ms)

The design retains the canonical BNZ Victorian layout: Māori portrait figures at left, a coastal vignette symbolizing New Zealand’s maritime economy, and dense guilloche frameworks engraved to Bradbury Wilkinson’s late-19th-century standard. By 1913, however, the orange duty tint had been deepened and the geometry subtly regularized, reflecting the broader transition from ornate Victorian engraving toward the more disciplined Edwardian and early WWI-era printing style. Read more →