Collection PL

Argentina 1883 — Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires 2 Pesos Oro Proof (Pick S536fp)

Superb proof engraving prepared by the American Bank Note Company for the Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, dated 19 de Enero de 1883. The design features an equestrian vignette at center symbolizing progress and vitality, flanked by portraits of Florencio Varela and Valentín Alsina, two influential figures in Argentina’s political and intellectual life. Printed directly from ABNC master plates in black ink on thin India paper and mounted on card stock, this piece confirms its pre-issue proof status. ... Read more →

Honduras 1863 — 5 Pesos Treasury Bond Vale de Hacienda República Libre, Soberano e Independiente (Pick 7)

This 5 Pesos vale de hacienda was issued by the Republic of Honduras under the decree of 2 March 1863 and represents one of the earliest surviving treasury obligations of the Honduran republic. During the mid-nineteenth century Honduras lacked a formal banking system and frequently relied on treasury vales such as this to finance government operations and supplement the limited supply of metallic currency. The document prominently displays the national seal of the 'República de Honduras Libre, Soberano e Independiente', featuring the triangular emblem with radiant sun and landscape motif adopted after independence. ... Read more →

Uruguay 1896 — Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay 5 Pesos Photographic Proof Pair (Pick Unlisted)

A photographic proof pair for the 5 Pesos issue dated 1896, produced by the American Bank Note Company for the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay. Printed in black on photographic paper and mounted on cardstock, this pair records the approved face and back engravings prior to preparation of circulation plates. The obverse features a formal portrait of José Gervasio Artigas set within an ornate late-nineteenth-century framework of scrollwork, floral ornament, and dense guilloche patterns. ... Read more →

Honduras 1873 — 5 Pesos Treasury Note (Billete de Tesoreria, Comayagua, Unlisted Issue)

Original 5 Pesos Billete de Tesoreria issued by the Republic of Honduras at Comayagua and dated April 20, 1873. The printed text makes it payable to bearer against the national Treasury under the decree of March 18 of the same year, a stop-gap fiscal instrument used in place of scarce coin. Handwritten signatures and multiple official seals are present. ... Read more →

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

This specimen represents the sole documented control specimen of the Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes issue, printed in 1876 by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London for the provincial Bank of San Juan. It is not part of a surviving series but a single archival output, with no issued, proof, or parallel specimen counterparts known. The Banco de San Juan operated within Argentina’s interior Andean province during a period when provincial banks exercised near-sovereign authority over local credit and currency issuance. ... Read more →

Argentina 1869 — Banco Domingo Garbino, 5 Pesos Fuertes Issued Note with Red Overprint (Pick S1803)

Issued 5 Pesos Fuertes note of Banco Domingo Garbino, printed by the American Bank Note Company (Compañía Americana de Billetes de Banco Nueva York) and formally activated for circulation through the large diagonal red overprint “DOMINGO GARBINO.” This overprint was not decorative nor optional: it was the legal validation required to transform the bank’s remainder stock (Pick S1792r) into fully issued, signed, numbered, and payable currency. For this reason, Pick S1803 represents the only surviving issued form of the Garbino 5 Pesos Fuertes denomination. The base printing displays ABNC’s early post-Civil-War engraving style: a vigilant dog guarding a strongbox at top center, allegorical female portraits representing rural labor and domestic virtue, and deep green lathe-work executed with the precision that made ABNC the dominant security printer in the Americas. ... Read more →

Argentina 1844 — Provincia de Buenos Ayres 5 Pesos Moneda Corriente Issued Note, 1º Febrero 1844, Rosas Confederation Legend, Rosas Signature (Pick S389)

This 5 Pesos Moneda Corriente note was issued by the Provincia de Buenos Ayres and dated 1º Febrero 1844 during the political dominance of Juan Manuel de Rosas. It belongs to the Rosas-era provincial emission bearing the explicit political slogan 'Viva la Confederacion Argentina – Mueran los Salvajes Unitarios,' printed directly on circulating currency as a declaration of federal loyalty and ideological alignment within the Argentine Confederation. The note was produced by the Casa de Moneda de Buenos Ayres, operating under the financial system structured by José María Rojas y Patrón, Minister of Finance under Rosas. ... Read more →

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

This engraved central portrait vignette was produced by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company in London as the primary design element for the 1876 Banco de San Juan 5 Pesos Fuertes issue. It is not an unrelated or stock engraving, but the exact central allegorical figure integrated into the final banknote design, forming a direct and inseparable component of the note’s visual and symbolic structure. The vignette depicts a classical female allegory rendered in high-precision intaglio, embodying republican ideals, stability, and institutional authority. ... Read more →