10 Pesos

Among the earliest quasi-fiscal paper instruments issued on the Río de la Plata, this Provincia de Buenos Aires customs note predates the founding of the Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires by over a decade. The Ministerio de Hacienda resorted to issuing these obligations through the Aduana — the customs house — because no formal banking infrastructure yet existed to manage provincial liquidity. Essentially a government IOU backed by anticipated customs revenue, not by specie reserves.

1820 was a catastrophic year for the former Viceroyalty: the Battle of Cepeda in February dissolved the central government entirely, leaving Buenos Aires to function as an autonomous province managing its own finances in a vacuum. These notes circulated in that wreckage.