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20 Bolivianos
| Issuer | Banco Francisco Argandoña |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893 |
| Type | Specimen |
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| Obverse description | Portrait vignette at left of a bearded gentleman in formal attire, set within an ornate frame. To the right, an allegorical group of two classical figures, one seated at an easel. Central text reads EL BANCO FRANCISCO ARGANDOÑA and VEINTE BOLIVIANOS in letterpress, with guilloche underprint throughout. Overprinted CANCELLED in red. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in blue, the reverse centres on an oval vignette of an elaborate palatial building with a tower amid trees, surrounded by intricate guilloche lacework. Denomination numerals 20 appear at left and right within ornamental cartouches. Legends FRANCISCO ARGANDOÑA and BOLIVIA arc above and below the central vignette. |
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| Comments |
Banco Francisco Argandoña was a private commercial bank based in Potosí, one of several regional banks operating under Bolivia's 1890 banking law that permitted note-issuing privileges to private institutions. The arrangement was short-lived — by 1911, the Banco de la Nación Boliviana absorbed most of the circulating note business, and many of the private bank issues were called in and destroyed.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plates in London, which was routine for South American private bank commissions of this period. Surviving examples from this issuer are genuinely scarce, with the S-prefix Pick reference reflecting its private bank status rather than any central authority backing.