Catalog
2 Doblones 20 Pesos - Banco Maua
| Issuer | Banco Mauá & Cía. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
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| Value | 2 Doblones = 20 Pesos (20 UYP) |
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| Obverse description | Central oval vignette of a woman facing forward, rendered in intaglio engraving, set within a guilloche border. The heading reads 'EL BANCO MAUA & Cía.' with serial numbers flanking the vignette, and the denomination expressed as '20 PESOS' on the left and '2 DOBLONES' on the right within ornate rosette panels. The lower portion bears the promise text 'VEINTE PESOS EN BILLETES DE CURSO LEGAL' with the place and date 'MONTEVIDEO, 1° DE MARZO DE 1871' and a manuscript signature. |
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| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO MAUA & Cía. VEINTE PESOS EN BILLETES DE CURSO LEGAL VEINTE 20 PESOS 2 DOBLONES MONTEVIDEO, 1° DE MARZO DE 1871 Pagará al portador y a la vista or en su efecto en ORO SELLADO con arreglo al Art° 20 de la Ley de 4 de Mayo de 1870 VEINTEPESOS |
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| Comments |
Banco Mauá & Cía. was the Uruguayan arm of the financial empire built by Irineu Evangelista de Sousa — the Barão de Mauá — whose banking network stretched across Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina at its peak. By 1871, that empire was already under severe strain. Mauá's Brazilian bank had been fighting liquidity crises since the mid-1860s, and the Uruguayan operation was increasingly propped up by cross-border credit that was itself precarious.
The dual denomination — Doblones and Pesos — reflects the monetary instability of the Río de la Plata region, where multiple currency systems circulated simultaneously and issuers hedged by denominating in more than one unit. Banco Mauá collapsed entirely by 1875.