Catalog
2 Patacones Sociedad de Cambios
| Issuer | Sociedad de Cambios |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
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| Value | 2 Patacones |
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| Obverse description | A bull vignette at the top center divides the issuer name, with the institution's title repeated vertically along the left edge in ornate cursive lettering rotated 90°. The denomination "2 Patacones" appears twice, near the upper and lower borders as well as to the right of the central vignette. Manuscript serial number at upper left, series letter at lower left, and handwritten issue date at lower center complete the typeset text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SOCIEDAD DE CAMBIOS 2 Patacones LA SOCIEDAD DE CAMBIOS Reconoce este billete por DOS PATACONES, paga- dero al portador, y á la vista, en 8 billetes iguales por una Onza de Oro. B MAYO de 1856 (Translation: Exchange Society 2 Patacones The Exchange Society reckons this note for two Patacones, payable to bearer, and at sight, in 8 equal notes for one gold ounce. B May, 1856) |
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| Comments |
The Sociedad de Cambios was a short-lived Bolivian exchange house rather than a formal bank, operating in an environment where the national government had not yet established a structured note-issuing institution. These private quasi-banking entities filled the vacuum left by chronic coin shortages in the 1850s, particularly in the altiplano trade centers.
The patacón was a colloquial unit tied to the old Spanish colonial peso fuerte — its continued use on private paper into the 1850s reflects how deeply colonial monetary habits persisted long after independence. No redemption records for this issuer are known to survive.