Collection PL

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

This textile emergency currency from Sinkiang belongs to the late Qing frontier monetary tradition, when regional authorities relied on locally produced substitutes in response to chronic shortages of official coin and paper money. Executed on coarse red-dyed cloth and printed by hand-carved woodblocks, the note reflects a monetary environment shaped by isolation, logistical constraints, and reliance on pre-modern administrative practices. The use of textile as a monetary substrate is not symbolic but functional. ... Read more →

Great Britain 1997 — Thomas De La Rue 100 Units Test Note Portal Watermark

A rare Thomas De La Rue test note, issued as a demonstration piece rather than circulating currency. Dated ND (1997), this 100 Units note was printed to showcase De La Rue’s advanced banknote security design, incorporating microtext, guilloche patterns, and the portal watermark. The obverse features a portrait of Thomas De La Rue with multicolor lathework and the company’s headquarters vignette. ... Read more →

North Macedonia 1996 — 5000 Denari Photographic Transparency Essay (Maenad Vignette)

This photographic transparency records the engraved Maenad vignette prepared during the design development of the Republic of Macedonia’s inaugural 5000 Denari banknote. Created within the pre-press workflow of Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited in London, the transparency preserves the original engraved image before the design progressed into plate production and full banknote printing. In modern security printing, photographic transparencies were produced after the engraver completed the steel die but before the design was transferred to printing plates. ... Read more →