Collection PL

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

As a historical artifact, this note records how late Qing frontier authorities sustained economic continuity using locally adapted solutions. It stands as material evidence of a monetary system operating beyond the reach of centralized control, relying instead on durability, recognizability, and regional legitimacy to function. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 100 Reales Vellon Serie A No. 23327 Full Sheet with Header and Talon Specimen (Pick S451s)

Pick S451s denotes the official specimen variety of the 1857 issue, distinct from issued notes (S451b) and remainders (S451r). The engraving shows the formal Madrid-school style of the 1850s, with a large Spanish coat of arms, detailed acanthus ornamentation, and a typographic promise payable in Zaragoza. The talón repeats the serial number 23327, confirming original internal pairing. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 200 Reales Vellon Serie B No. 07887 Full Sheet with Header and Talon Specimen (Pick S452s)

This specimen forms a matched typological pair with the standard specimen Serie B, No. 07958 (Pick S452s) also in the collection, together documenting both the production-sheet format and the standard specimen format of the 200 reales vellón emission. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 500 Reales Vellon Serie C No. 08703 Full Sheet with Header and Talon Specimen (Pick S453s)

Rarity is extreme. PMG census entries for the broader Pick S453 family combine notes from multiple unrelated banks and do not represent Banco de Zaragoza. No full-sheet S453s specimens from Zaragoza are recorded in PMG archives or in the catalog history of major Spanish auctions (Aureo & Calicó, Cayón, Soler y Llach, Vico). This complete production sheet, preserving header, talón, and banknote together, qualifies as R8+ and may be unique. Read more →

New Zealand 1895-1908 - Bank of New Zealand £10 Brown with Serial Number Prefix Specimen (Pick S193bs)

The specimen carries a perforation reading 'SPECIMEN' applied across the central design, executed through pin-perforation rather than ink overprint. This perforation functions as a printer-applied specimen designation. A wide vertical audit margin at left remains intact, consistent with printer file copies retained for internal reference and documentation. Read more →

Australia 1880-1889 - Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited £5 with Serial Prefix SPECIMEN (Pick Unlisted, MVR4a)

Specimens of this class were retained for internal reference, serial accountability, and client approval, and were not intended for public release. Their survival rate is significantly lower than issued notes, as most were destroyed following plate approval or institutional review. Read more →

Mauritius 1839 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 20 Dollars / 4 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled Note (Pick S125)

One of the earliest surviving issued notes of the Mauritius Commercial Bank-the oldest banking institution in the Indian Ocean-this 1839 Twenty Dollar / Four Pounds Sterling note is a foundational artifact of Mauritian monetary history. Issued only one year after the bank’s founding in 1838, it belongs to the first generation of fully functional colonial paper money used on the island. These early issues circulated at a time when coin shortages were severe, and private banknotes became the primary medium of exchange for merchants, plantation owners, and shipping houses. Read more →

Australia 1890 - Bank of New South Wales £10 Brisbane Circular Note Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

Specimen status is shown by the perforated SPECIMEN cancellation through the lower right portion of the face. The note remains fully unissued, with the operational fields left blank and the Accountant and Manager lines unsigned. Read more →

Australia 1890 - Bank of New South Wales £10 Melbourne Circular Note Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This £10 Sterling Circular Note specimen was prepared for The Bank of New South Wales at Melbourne for use within the bank's international traveler-payment system. The face carries the Melbourne office designation and the printed open date field "18__", placing the form within the bank's 19th-century circular-note series. Read more →

New Zealand 1895–1915 - Bank of New Zealand £5 Orange Specimen (Pick S192s)

The high-denomination anchor of the Bank of New Zealand color series, this five pounds orange specimen (Pick S192s) represents one of the most structurally complex and production-informative notes of New Zealand’s private banking era. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company, Limited, London, it embodies the transition from richly ornamental Victorian engraving toward the more controlled and symmetrical Edwardian framework that followed. The composition preserves the defining elements of the earlier series-paired Māori figures within oval medallions at left, a lower maritime vignette reflecting colonial trade identity, and a dense guilloche lattice enclosing the denomination-while introducing a more disciplined spatial hierarchy across the central obligation panel. Read more →

New Zealand 1870–1890 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Green Specimen (Pick S191s)

The visual composition reflects both identity and function. The paired Māori figures at left represent one of the earliest sustained uses of indigenous portraiture on British Empire currency, while the coastal vignette beneath-depicting maritime activity-anchors the note within New Zealand’s trade-dependent economy. Dense guilloche work, layered engraving, and ornamental borders provided both aesthetic complexity and anti-counterfeiting security. Read more →

Mexico 1884 – Fábrica de Tunal 1 Peso (Pick Unlisted, ABNC)

This note’s preservation is extraordinary. Crisp tint, unbroken plate impression, strong paper, and full margins underscore the PMG 64 CU grade, positioning it among the finest survivors of any issued ABNC corporate 19th-century Mexican note. As both a financial artifact and a cultural record, the Fábrica de Tunal 1 Peso stands as a rare document of Mexico’s industrial ascent and the globalization of U.S. security-printing techniques. Read more →