20 Centésimos Provisional

Uruguay's Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay resorted to provisional low-denomination issues in the early 1920s partly because small-change shortages were chronic across the Río de la Plata region following the disruptions of World War One trade finance. Contracting the Casa de Moneda in Buenos Aires was a straightforward practical decision — the Argentine national mint had been producing quality intaglio work for decades and was geographically the most accessible facility of that standard.

The "Provisional" designation in the title is the telling detail. These were stop-gap instruments, never intended as permanent additions to the series, which likely kept print runs modest and redemption swift.