Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Banco del Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | American Bank Note Company, New York, United States |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO DEL PARAGUAY ASUNCIÓN, 1ro. DE ENERO DE 1882. 20 Pagará al portador y á la vista VEINTE CENTAVOS FUERTES en monedas de oro ó plata sellada de curso legal. (Translation: The Bank of Paraguay Asunción, January 1st., 1882. Will pay to bearer, at sight, Twenty Centavos Fuertes in coins of gold or sealed silver, of legal tender.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco del Paraguay was established in 1880 as the country's first commercial bank, just over a decade after the War of the Triple Alliance had effectively destroyed Paraguay's economy and reduced its population by more than half. This note is among the earliest pieces of paper currency issued under that reconstituted financial system — a system built almost entirely on foreign capital, primarily Brazilian and Argentine.
ABNC's involvement here is unsurprising; the firm dominated South American banknote contracts throughout this period. The "Fuertes" denomination distinguished these notes from the inflated paper pesos circulating elsewhere in the region.