20 Pesos

El Estado de Buenos Ayres was a short-lived sovereign entity, existing as a separate state from the Argentine Confederation between 1852 and 1861 following Urquiza's victory at Caseros and Buenos Aires's subsequent secession. This note was issued during that anomalous interval when the province maintained its own treasury, customs revenue, and banking apparatus entirely independent of the national government forming in Paraná.

The Banco y Casa de Moneda de la Provincia had been the dominant monetary institution in the region for decades, and provincial paper had a complicated reputation — earlier inflationary episodes left the public wary. By 1858, the state was managing a relatively stable fiscal position, largely on the strength of port duties.

Cotton substrate on notes of this period and region is worth noting: paper supply was irregular, and surviving examples frequently show foxing along fold lines.