20 Centésimos Emergency Postal Script Issues

Uruguay's 1868 postal script issues emerged from a genuine coin shortage — small silver and copper fractional coins had largely disappeared from circulation, hoarded or exported as their metal value exceeded face value. The government authorized postal stamps and adhesive-backed scrip as temporary substitutes, a stopgap measure that proved both practical and deeply unpopular with merchants who had no reliable mechanism for redemption.

Surviving examples are almost invariably found with folds and handling wear, consistent with daily transactional use rather than savings behavior.