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1/2 Sol
| Issuer | Banco La Providencia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1872 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#S226 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO LA PROVIDENCIA Pagara a la vista al portador MEDIO SOL en moneda LOS GERENTES PERU American Bank Note Co. New York |
| Reverse description | Printed in green, the reverse centres on a bold 'MEDIO SOL' legend in large serif letters within an elaborate guilloche panel, flanked by the fraction '1/2' in mirrored cartouches at left and right. The composition is entirely typographic and ornamental, relying on dense lathe-work borders and rosette cornerpieces for decoration. The printer's imprint 'American Bank Note Co. New York' appears twice within the guilloche framework. |
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| Comments |
Banco La Providencia was one of several private Peruvian banks authorized to issue notes following the 1862 banking law, which briefly opened the field to commercial note issue before the state moved to consolidate control. The half-sol denomination is the smallest in this series and was aimed squarely at everyday retail transactions — a market that silver coin was supposed to serve but chronically failed to supply in sufficient quantity.
ABNC produced the plates in New York, as they did for most of the Peruvian private bank issues of this period. The bank itself did not survive the War of the Pacific; Chilean occupation and the economic collapse of 1879–1884 wiped out most of Lima's private banking sector entirely.