2 Pesos Fuertes

The Banco Nacional of Argentina commissioned this series from the American Bank Note Company in New York at a moment of significant institutional uncertainty — the bank itself was struggling to establish credibility against a crowded field of provincial and foreign banks all competing for deposit confidence in Buenos Aires. The 1873 issue predates the severe financial crisis that struck the following year, when a global credit contraction hammered Argentine institutions hard and forced emergency measures across the banking sector.

ABNC's involvement was typical of the period, when Argentine banks routinely outsourced security printing to New York rather than use domestic facilities. The PS# prefix in the Pick catalog indicates provincial or private issue status, which affects how surviving examples are distributed across collections today.