Catalog
1 Sol
| Issuer | Banco de la Compañía General del Perú |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue and black intaglio on white paper, the obverse carries the full bank title 'EL BANCO DE LA COMPAÑIA GENERAL DEL PERU' in bold lettering across the upper register. At left, a circular portrait vignette of José Gálvez is enclosed within an elaborate engraved border, flanked by a maritime scene with sailing vessels and a coastal landscape; below, a steam locomotive vignette runs along the lower centre. The denomination 'UN SOL' appears in script with the issuing place and date 'Lima, 1873' at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO DE LA COMPAÑIA GENERAL DEL PERU Pagará a la vista UN SOL en moneda corriente Lima 1873 JOSÉ GÁLVEZ |
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The Banco de la Compañía General del Perú was one of several private Lima banks that briefly flourished before Peru's catastrophic War of the Pacific (1879–1884) wiped out most of the country's private banking sector. Notes issued under this charter had only a narrow window of legitimate circulation before the war's economic devastation — forced conversion policies, military requisitioning, and eventual bank failures rendered most private paper worthless within a decade of printing.
ABNC printed multiple Peruvian private bank series during this period from their New York workshops, often sharing plate elements across clients to reduce costs. Worth checking for the familiar ABNC imprint in the lower margin.