Catalog
20 Centavos Asunción Tramway Light & Power Co.
| Issuer | Asunción Tramway Light & Power Co. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913-1915 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ASUNCIÓN TRAMWAY LIGHT & POWER CO. La Empresa de Tranvias Luz y Fuerza pagará al portador y a lá vista 20 VEINTE CENTAVOS MONEDA NACIONAL CURSO LEGAL LST COMP SUD-AMERIC DE BILLETES DE BANCO. B.A. |
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| Reverse lettering | 20 |
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| Comments |
The Asunción Tramway Light & Power Co. was a British-registered concern operating Paraguay's urban transit and electrical infrastructure in the early twentieth century. Its decision to issue small-denomination fiduciary notes — effectively scrip — reflects the chronic shortage of low-value coin in Asunción at the time, a problem that afflicted much of the Río de la Plata region and drove private operators to plug the gap themselves.
The Compañía Sudamericana de Billetes de Banco handled most of the serious private printing work in the Southern Cone during this period before folding in 1918. Their involvement gives this scrip considerably more technical polish than most transit-company emergency issues.