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| Issuer | Banco de A. Edwards y Ca. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890-1899 |
| Type | Non-issued banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on green guilloche underprint. Portrait vignette of Agustín Edwards Ossandón at left, with the bank's coat of arms at lower right. Text panels carry the promise-to-pay legend and gold-weight specifications. |
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| Obverse lettering | ₤1 EL BANCO DE A. EDWARDS Y CA. Pagará al portador à la vista EN VALPARAISO UNA LIBRA ESTERLINA EQUIVALENTES A CINCO PESOS CADA UNO DE ELLOS COMPUESTO DE 464.476 / 1.000.000 GRAMOS DE ORO PURO Y LA LICA CORRESPONDIENTE VALPARAISO 189_ SUPERINTENDENTE DE LA CASA MONEDA POR EL BANCO 1 LIBRA ESTERLINA EQUIVALENTE A CINCO PESOS DE ORO (Translation: The Bank of A. Edwards and Co. will pay the bearer on sight, in Valparaiso, one sterling pound, equivalents of five pesos each composed of 464,476 / 1,000,000 grams of pure gold and the corresponding alloy. Superintendent of the Mint. For the bank. 1 sterling pound equivalent of five gold pesos.) |
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| Comments |
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.