20 Centavos Fuertes

The Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata was a British-founded institution operating in Argentina from 1863, with its Rosario branch functioning as a semi-independent issuing entity. The 20 Centavos Fuertes denomination — struck in "hard" currency terms at a moment when Argentine monetary life was chronically undermined by inconvertible paper — reflects the optimism of foreign banking capital trying to anchor itself to a stable monetary standard that the local economy was never quite able to sustain.

American Bank Note Company's work for South American clients in this period was prolific, but small-denomination fractional notes like this were produced in far lower quantities than the higher values and saw proportionally heavier use. Survivors in collectible condition are correspondingly thin.