Catalog
1 Peso
| Issuer | República de Chile |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| Value | 1 Peso |
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| Obverse description | Black on orange underprint. A vignette at left shows two allegorical female figures seated, one holding a caduceus, flanking a central building vignette. Portrait of President Federico Errázuriz Zañartu appears at right. Two handstamps are applied: Type III 'SUPERINTENDENCIA DE LA CASA DE MONEDA' and Type IV 'CONTADURIA MAYOR'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 1 REPUBLICA DE CHILE ESTE BILLETE ES MONEDA LEGAL PARA LA SOLUCION DE TODA ESPECIE DE OBLIGACIONES CUALES QUIERA QUE SEAN SU FECHA I LOS TERMINOS EN QUE ESTEN OTORGADOS. LEI DE 10 DE ABRIL DE 1879. American Bank Note Company, New York (Translation: 1 Republic of Chile This banknote is legal currency for the settlement of all kinds of obligations, whatever their date and the terms in which they are granted. Law of April 10, 1879.) |
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| Comments |
Chile's 1881 series marked the government's direct entry into paper currency — the República de Chile notes were state-issued obligations, not commercial bank paper, arriving during the War of the Pacific when saltpeter revenues were reshaping the country's fiscal position. The American Bank Note Company's involvement was typical for Latin American sovereign issues of the period; ABNC held contracts across the continent simultaneously, and their New York plates gave the notes a consistency of finish that local printers couldn't match.
Pick #1 is the opening entry of Chilean national paper currency, which gives it a certain bibliographic significance regardless of grade.