Catalog
1 Peso large size
| Issuer | Caja de Conversión, Argentina |
|---|---|
| Year | 1900 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 150 × 77 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in gray-blue, the obverse carries a central allegorical vignette of a seated female figure representing Progreso, holding a torch, positioned at left. A seven-digit red serial number with specially coded prefix and suffix letters appears on the face. The overall design is executed in fine intaglio engraving with guilloche underprint work typical of American Bank Note Company production. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | REPUBLICA ARGENTINA UN PESO (Translation: Republic of Argentina One Peso) |
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| Comments |
The Caja de Conversión was established in 1890 specifically to stabilize a peso that had collapsed catastrophically during the Baring Crisis — at one point the paper peso lost over 70% of its gold parity value. This note belongs to the conversion series intended to rebuild public confidence in Argentine paper currency after that disaster, with each note theoretically backed by gold reserves held in the Caja's vaults.
Mouchon was primarily a French stamp engraver, best known for his work on early Third Republic issues. His involvement here via ABNC was not unusual — the company routinely licensed European engravers' designs for South American commissions during this period.
The Caja suspended convertibility again in 1914 at the outbreak of war, rendering this series functionally obsolete within fifteen years of issue.