Collection PL

Australia 1905–1910 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Specimen Proof (Pick Unlisted)

Proof specimen printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. between 1905 and 1910 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED — one of Australia’s oldest and most respected private banks, founded in 1834. The CBC operated independently until its 1981 merger with the National Bank of Australasia, forming today’s NAB. ... Read more →

Poland 1936 — 50 Zlotych Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (Pick 78a, Miłczak 77a–b)

The 50 Zlotych note dated 11 November 1936 with the portrait of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski represents the highest artistic and symbolic achievement of Polish interwar banknote design. Conceived as the flagship denomination of a fully modernized Bank Polski series, it was intended to embody state continuity, national identity, and technical excellence at a moment when the Second Polish Republic had reached institutional maturity. The choice of date was deliberate. ... Read more →

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

An archival £1 Red specimen from the Bank of New Zealand private-issue series, catalogued as Pick S212bs and drawn from the opening serial block G000001–G100000. This example was pulled directly from the working plates of Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, as an approval and control specimen for internal printer and bank-director reference during the closing phase of BNZ private note production. The presence of live production serial numbers with the letter prefix G clearly distinguishes this class from unnumbered file specimens. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 — Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix G100001–G300000 (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the G100001–G300000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Fully executed in final inks with live production numbering and perforated CANCELLED across the signature panel, identifying it as a printer-archive invalidation of a fully finished note rather than a proof or unfinished file copy. This cancelled variant represents the second major production block of the BNZ £1 Red sequence. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1905–1916 — Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix E300001–E400000 (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the terminal E300001–E400000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Perforated SPECIMEN across the signature panel and preserved with wide selvage, this pull represents the final and rarest stage of BNZ £1 Red archival production. The E-prefix rollover marks a distinct late-WWI production phase involving plate recalibration and alphabetic reset within Bradbury Wilkinson’s numbering system. ... Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924-1933) - Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings Proof, Perforated SPECIMEN (Pick S161s)

Printers archival proof for the Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings, classified in the Standard Catalog and grading records as New Zealand Pick S161s (ND 1924-1933) and produced in London by Charles Skipper and East. This piece was never intended for circulation. It was created as part of the printers internal proofing, approval, and archival process and survives as a workshop original documenting the final approved design for a denomination that ultimately never entered public issue. ... Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924-1933) - Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings Oversized Proof, Perforated SPECIMEN (Pick S161s)

Printers archival oversized proof for the Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings, classified in the Standard Catalog and grading records as New Zealand Pick S161s (ND 1924-1933) and produced in London by Charles Skipper and East. This example survives on an oversized, untrimmed sheet and represents the most internal and earliest preserved production state of the design. Although cataloged under New Zealand, the design belongs to the broader Australasian operating structure of the Bank of New South Wales, a trans Tasman institution active in both Australia and New Zealand. ... Read more →

New Zealand 1924–1925 — Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings Front Proof with SPECIMEN Perforation (Pick S231p1)

Front proof of the Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings (Pick S231p1), printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, for the post-war re-engraved issue dated 1924–25. Perforated SPECIMEN through the lower margin and certified by PMG as Choice Uncirculated 63 Top Pop, this example shows the completed obverse design prior to overprinting and serial application. The note features a finely engraved portrait of the Māori rangatira Tamati Waka Nene (1780–1871), leader of Ngāpuhi and an early ally of British settlement—one of the first indigenous statesmen ever depicted on a Commonwealth banknote. ... Read more →

Bolivia 1904 — Banco Nacional 5 Bolivianos (Specimen)

Specimen of the 1904 Banco Nacional de Bolivia 5 Bolivianos, engraved and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. (BWC) in London. The note bears the date SUCRE, 1 de Enero de 1904, and features the portrait of Simón Bolívar at center—an enduring symbol of republican legitimacy. ... Read more →

Bolivia 1903 — Banco Agrícola 5 Bolivianos (Proof Pair)

Matched front and back printer’s proofs attributed to the American Bank Note Company, both graded PMG 63. These proofs were prepared as final design studies before mass production, allowing the printer and issuing bank to review alignment, color, and engraving detail prior to signature placement or numbering. The 5 Bolivianos design reflects Bolivia’s early 20th-century drive to modernize its financial infrastructure following the Federal Revolution of 1899. ... Read more →

Poland 1936 — 50 Zlotych Reverse Progressive Proof (Pick 78pp2)

Progressive proof of the reverse design for the unissued 1936 50 Zlotych — one of the most advanced and visually ambitious notes ever conceived by the Second Polish Republic. Printed by the Państwowa Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych (PWPW) in Warsaw, this sheet captures a transitional stage in the birth of a masterpiece. The reverse artwork was executed under the artistic supervision of Wacław Borowski and engraved by Włodzimierz Vacek, two of the most accomplished figures in pre-war Polish graphic arts. ... Read more →

Paraguay 1907 — 100 Pesos with 1912 State Overprint (Pick 134, Base Pick 159)

Exceptional 1907 Banco de la República 100 Pesos, printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, and later revalidated by the Paraguayan state through the bold oval overprint “Emisión del Estado – Ley de 11 de Enero de 1912.” This is the recognized catalogued 1912 state-overprint issue, Pick 134, created on the original 1907 Banco de la República 100 Pesos base type, Pick 159. Unlike the rarer dual-side treasury revalidation variety, this example carries the official state emission overprint on the face only, making it the standard and historically definitive form of the 1912 emergency reissue. The 1912 overprint was not a decorative or routine bank marking. ... Read more →