Catalog
2 Pesos
| Issuer | Estado de Honduras |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Peso (1862-1871) |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The note is enclosed within an ornate letterpress-printed border of floral and foliate vignettes on all four sides. At the top centre, an engraved vignette bears the coat of arms of the Estado de Honduras — a radiant sun above a triangle containing an eye, flanked by trees and mountains — encircled by the legend ESTADO DE HONDURAS, with a large black wax seal applied over the lower portion of the arms. Below, a bold letterpress panel reads VALE DOS PESOS, accompanied by the manuscript decree reference "Por el decreto de 19 de Julio de 1862" and the place of issue "Madrid", with three manuscript signature lines above the printed designations of El Contador mayor, El Mtre. de hacienda, and El Tesorero gral. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ESTADO DE HONDURAS 1.a Clase Num. 1985 VALE DOS PESOS Madrid Por el decreto de 19 de Julio de 1862 El Contador mayor El Mtre. de hacienda El Tesorero gral. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Comments |
The Estado de Honduras issues of the 1860s were among the earliest paper currency attempts in Central America, produced at a time when the country had no domestic printing infrastructure capable of banknote work. Madrid was the logical choice — not through any banking relationship, but through the remnants of colonial administrative ties that made Spanish printers familiar with the required authoritative typography and official formats.
The wax seal as the primary security feature tells you something about the limitations of the issue: this was authentication by physical intervention, each note individually sealed, almost certainly by a government official at point of distribution. Forgery deterrence relied on bureaucratic process rather than intaglio or watermark technology.
P#6B implies a variant within the 1862 series — likely a signature or seal color difference from 6A, though documentation on these distinctions remains thin in most major references.