20 Pesos

Banco Americano was one of several private banks operating in Ecuador during the early 1880s under the country's free banking period, when commercial institutions were permitted to issue their own circulating notes. Waterlow & Sons in London handled the printing for numerous South American issuers during this period, and the quality of their intaglio work was generally superior to what local facilities could produce.

The S prefix in the Pick reference places this squarely in the Specialized catalogue as an unlisted or provisional issuer — Banco Americano's circulation history in Ecuador remains poorly documented, which makes attributing known survivors to specific issue dates difficult.