Catalog
2 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Salvadoreño |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio on white cotton paper, with a left-of-centre vignette of a reclining allegorical female figure amid sheaves of wheat executed in fine line engraving. To the right, an elaborate guilloche rosette underprint frames the large numeral '2' above the denomination legend 'DOS COLONES', while the bank title 'EL BANCO SALVADOREÑO' arches boldly across the upper field. The date 'SAN SALVADOR, 1° DE JUNIO DE 1920', serial number, series letter, and three manuscript signatures of bank officials appear along the lower margin, with the printer's imprint at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO SALVADOREÑO Pagará a la vista al portador DOS COLONES SAN SALVADOR, 1° DE JUNIO DE 1920 SERIE A ADMINISTRADOR DIRECTOR AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY |
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| Comments |
Banco Salvadoreño was one of several private commercial banks in El Salvador authorized to issue their own currency before the government consolidated note-issuing authority under the Banco Central de Reserva in 1934. The American Bank Note Company handled a significant portion of Latin American private bank printing during this period, and the quality of the intaglio work on these Salvadoran issues is characteristically sharp.
P#S173 carries the "S" prefix in the Pick catalog, indicating a private or semi-official issuer — not a central bank note. By 1920, the writing was already on the wall for El Salvador's multi-bank currency system, making late-date examples from institutions like Banco Salvadoreño progressively harder to attribute to specific circulation windows.