Collection PL

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte Specimen (Pick S1880s)

This note was produced as a specimen and never intended for circulation. Its pristine paper, absence of circulation wear, and specimen cancellation confirm its role as an internal control, approval, or archival reference. There is no evidence that an issued 1 Peso Fuerte note of this Banco de San Juan type ever entered circulation, nor is any proof state documented. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 1 Peso Fuerte Condor Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

In the finished 1 Peso Fuerte design, the vignette was incorporated into the large ornamental panel at left, surrounded by denomination counters and the elaborate geometric framework characteristic of Bradbury Wilkinson's nineteenth-century banknote work. The completed note identifies El Banco de San Juan prominently across the center, with "UN PESO FUERTE" repeated within the principal denomination panels and the Bradbury Wilkinson imprint along the lower margin. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes Specimen (S1881s)

Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company’s involvement underscores the depth of British penetration into Argentina’s provincial financial infrastructure during the nineteenth century. Provincial banks commissioned London engravers not merely for technical security, but to project legitimacy, permanence, and alignment with international commercial norms in regions where paper money acceptance was fragile. Read more →

Argentina 1876 - Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes Central Portrait Vignette (Bradbury Wilkinson and Company)

Vignette die proofs were produced so that individual engraved elements could be examined independently before being combined with borders, lettering, denomination devices, emblems and other features of the finished note. This example shows the portrait in its standalone production form, without the surrounding framework later used on the completed 5 Pesos Fuertes design. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 200 Reales Vellón Serie B Issued Note No. 07958 (Pick S4532s)

Although the broader Pick S452 census includes notes from several different issuers, PMG does not list any specimens from Banco de Zaragoza. As a result, this piece stands entirely outside population data and should be viewed as an independent rarity. Its survival indicates an extremely small original specimen distribution, likely limited to printer or bank archival holdings. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00589 (Pick S455)

Few issued Serie E notes are known. The surviving population is best measured by direct observation rather than catalog assumptions. Only a tiny number of fully signed, circulation-authorized 2000 reales vellón notes have been documented. This note (No. 00589) is one of just two examples currently held in the collection-the other being serial No. 00500-and it pairs with that companion piece to form what is likely the strongest private holding of issued 2000 reales vellón worldwide. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00500 (Pick S455)

A fully issued 2000 reales vellón banknote from the Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie E, serial number 00500. Classified under Pick S455, this note represents the highest denomination from Zaragoza known to have entered active circulation. Its survival is an exceptional anomaly: most high-value private-bank issues from this period were redeemed rapidly and destroyed, leaving only a microscopic population of true circulation-authorized notes. Read more →

Jersey 1840 - Bible Christian Church, Royal Crescent £1 Remainder (Pick Unlisted)

The engraving features an architectural vignette of the Royal Crescent Chapel and elaborate script typography typical of 1835–1845 provincial printing. As a remainder, the note shows no handwritten signatures, no serial number completion, and no payable-at entries - all left blank at the time of production. These sheets were prepared in anticipation of limited local circulation among members and supporters of the church, but few were ever issued. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Note No. 00286 (Pick S455)

This note is fully signed by all required officers, including the Comisario Regio, Director, Interventor, and Cajero. The prominent circular cancellation punch at center reflects standard Zaragoza redemption practice for high-denomination notes once withdrawn from circulation. Despite evident circulation wear, the engraved detail remains bold, preserving the distinctive mid-nineteenth-century Madrid-school engraving style used for Zaragoza’s emissions. Read more →

Spain 1857 - Banco de Zaragoza 2000 Reales Vellón Serie E Issued Consecutive Pair No. 00031–00032 (Pick S455)

Consecutive issued pairs of Serie E are virtually unknown. Most surviving examples of the 2000 reales denomination appear as isolated single notes, often heavily circulated and later cancelled. The preservation of two consecutive serials-00031 and 00032-offers rare insight into the original issuance sequence and handling of Zaragoza’s largest circulating notes. Read more →

New Caledonia 1871 - French Treasury Second of Exchange for 2,000 Francs (Service des Colonies)

Bills of exchange of this type were not generic issues but transaction-specific payment orders. Each example corresponded to an individual treasury authorization, defined by its date, serial number, signatories, designated colony, and amount. Differences in year, colony, or signatures therefore represent distinct fiscal transactions rather than variants or duplicates of a single issue. Read more →

Martinique 1870 - Banque de la Martinique 1 Franc Unissued Cheque (Pick P.5A)

The place of issue, Saint-Pierre, anchors the document historically. Before the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, Saint-Pierre was the economic and administrative center of Martinique, often referred to as the "Paris of the Caribbean." Banking instruments originating from Saint-Pierre are therefore directly connected to the island’s lost commercial capital and its pre-disaster financial infrastructure. Read more →