1/2 Centesimo Overprint on 5 Pesos P#119

Chile's 1960 monetary reform replaced the peso with the escudo at a rate of 1,000 to 1, requiring the central bank to rapidly revalue its entire existing note stock before new designs could be printed. The solution was a nationwide overprint program — existing peso notes had their denominations mechanically restamped to express the equivalent escudo value, producing fractional centesimo denominations that would otherwise never have justified a dedicated print run.

The 1/2 centesimo equivalent — five old pesos — is among the smallest face values the overprint series generated. These circulated briefly; the escudo's own inflation problems meant the lowest denominations became economically irrelevant within a few years.