Catalog
20 Pesos
| Issuer | Tesoro Nacional de la República Dominicana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1848 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of the Dominican coat of arms flanked by an ornate cartouche bearing the numeral '1' to the left and a circular panel with '40' to the right, with the principal legends 'UN PESO NOMINAL' and 'CUARENTA CENTAVOS FUERTES' printed across the face. A lateral vignette at the left margin depicts a standing figure within a landscape scene, with the numeral '40' repeated beneath. Manuscript text in the centre references the Tesorería Nacional with the date 1848, and printed signature lines for 'Comisario Administrador' and 'Cámara de Comercio' appear at the lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is set in letterpress typography, headed by a large bold 'No.' at the upper centre, beneath which a formal Spanish text reads 'En virtud del decreto del Congreso Nacional de 19 de Mayo de 1858, Créese el presente billete por Veinte Pesos'. A circular official handstamp bearing the numeral '20' is applied at the lower centre, and cancellation holes are present at the left margin. |
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| Comments |
The Tesoro Nacional de la República Dominicana began issuing paper currency in 1848 under acute fiscal pressure — the young republic, independent from Haiti only since 1844, had no functioning central bank and no hard currency reserves to speak of. These notes were essentially government drafts backed by little more than political will, issued to pay soldiers and civil servants during a period of near-constant military threat from Haitian forces to the west.
Pick 6 is among the earliest documented Dominican paper issues, making surviving examples genuinely rare. The Dominican treasury of this period kept poor records, and many notes were redeemed, cancelled, or simply lost in the disorder of the 1850s.