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2 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Chile (Government Issue) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885-1895 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Black on green underprint. At left, an intaglio portrait vignette of Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada; the central field carries a landscape vignette of a village scene, with the National Arms also positioned at left. Two official handstamps appear on the face: a Type I oval reading DIRECCION DEL TESORO-SANTIAGO and a Type II strike reading DIRECCION DE CONTABILIDAD-SANTIAGO, applied as authorization marks. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | COMPAÑIA AMERICANA DE BILLETES DE BANCO, NUEVA YORK 2 REPUBLICA DE CHILE ESTE BILLETE ES MONEDA LEGAL PARA LA SOLUCION DE TODA ESPECIE DE OBLIGACIONES CUALES QUIERA QUE SEAN SU FECHA I LOS TERMINOS EN QUE ESTEN OTORGADOS. LEI DE 10 DE ABRIL DE 1879. AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK (Translation: American Bank Note Company, New York. 2. Republic of Chile. This banknote is legal tender for the settlement of all kinds of obligations whatever their date and the terms in which they are granted. Law of April 10, 1879.) |
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| Comments |
Chile's government-issued peso notes of this period emerged from a monetary crisis rather than routine policy. The 1878 suspension of gold convertibility — pushed through as Chilean banks buckled under the strain of a global credit contraction — left the state issuing paper currency directly, bypassing the commercial banking system that had previously handled note circulation. This series was produced across a decade-long window during which convertibility was not restored, and the notes functioned as inconvertible fiat in everything but name.
The American Bank Note Company held a near-monopoly on South American government printing work through this period, which partly explains the visual consistency across otherwise unrelated issuing authorities from Buenos Aires to Santiago.