Catalog
1 Sucre
| Issuer | Banco Comercial y Agrícola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1903-1925 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO COMERCIAL Y AGRICOLA PAGARA A LA VISTA AL PORTADOR 1 UN SUCRE EN MONEDA CORRIENTE CAPITAL S/5.000.000. COMPANIA ANONIMA American Bank Note Co New York 1 UNO |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by an intricate guilloche underprint pattern with the bank name and denomination numeral repeated within the design, printed in a single color typical of early twentieth-century South American commercial bank issues. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Comercial y Agrícola was arguably the most powerful private bank in Ecuador's history — and one of its most controversial. By the early twentieth century it held a near-monopoly on paper money circulation, lending freely to the government in exchange for privileges that effectively made it the de facto central bank without the formal accountability. Its notes, including this 1 Sucre, circulated as the primary transactional currency for ordinary commerce while the institution quietly accumulated political leverage that would eventually contribute to the 1925 "Revolución Juliana," which ended private note-issuing in Ecuador altogether.
ABNC engraved the series with characteristic precision. The plates remained in service across a notably long span.