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16 Centavos Fuertes = 1 Chirola
| Issuer | Banco Nacional |
|---|---|
| Year | 1880 |
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| Currency | Peso Fuerte (1826-1899) |
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| Obverse description | Dark intaglio-printed note with the bank title BANCO NACIONAL across the upper centre, flanked by oval denomination counters reading '0.16' at left and right. The central text panel states DIEZ Y SEIS CENTAVOS FUERTES, with an additional legend noting equivalence to one Chirola and reference to the Ley Nacional. A small portrait vignette appears at lower left, with a second vignette at lower right. The date 'Buenos Aires, 1 de Marzo de 1880' is printed in the lower portion, with two manuscript signatures below identified as El Gerente and El Presidente. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a warm brownish-orange tone and covered with an intricate network of multiple circular guilloche rosettes of varying sizes arranged in a repeating geometric pattern across the entire field, with additional smaller ornamental counters interspersed throughout. A fine lathe-work border frames the design. The overall effect is a dense, security-oriented geometric underprint with no central vignette. |
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| Comments |
The chirola was a small-change fractional unit peculiar to Argentina's interior trade, and this Banco Nacional emission was one of several attempts to formalize low-denomination paper in a market that had long relied on worn copper coins and improvised tokens. Sixteen centavos fuertes to one chirola is an awkward conversion ratio that reflects the monetary confusion of the period, when multiple valuation systems — fuertes, moneda corriente, bolivianos — overlapped in daily commerce.
PS#669 is among the scarcer Banco Nacional fractionals. The Buenos Aires printing origin is confirmed for this series.