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1 Libra Esterlina / 5 Pesos Banco de A. Edwards y Ca.

Issuer Banco de A. Edwards y Ca.
Year 1890-1899
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Value 5 Pesos
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Reverse description Entirely green intaglio print. Two mirrored panels each bear a large sterling pound symbol and numeral «1» within intricate guilloche latticework, flanked by «ORO» at all four corners; the central cartouche reads «UNA LIBRA ESTERLINA» in bold lettering. Printer's imprint at lower centre.
Reverse lettering ₤1
UNA LIBRA ESTERLINA
ORO
BRADBURY, WILKINSON Y Cª GRABADORES, LONDRES
(Translation: One sterling pound. Gold. Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Engravers, London.)
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A. Edwards y Cía. was one of Chile's most prominent private issuing banks of the nineteenth century, operating under the dual-denomination system that characterized Chilean banking before the 1925 monetary reform — notes expressed simultaneously in pesos and pounds sterling, reflecting the country's deep commercial ties to British capital and trade. The pound conversion was not ornamental; Chilean nitrate revenues were largely denominated in sterling, and merchant transactions regularly crossed between the two systems.

Bradbury Wilkinson handled engraving and printing for several South American private banks during this period, and their Chilean work is generally well-executed. The 1890s were turbulent years for Chilean private banking — the 1891 Civil War and subsequent monetary instability put real strain on note redemption, and several issuing institutions did not survive the decade intact.