Catalog
20 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Español de Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889-1890 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company, New York, United States |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio on orange and yellow underprint, produced by the American Bank Note Company. A vignette of the Paschal lamb occupies the left panel, with a central upper vignette of three male figures hoisting a crate, alluding to commerce and labor; elaborate guilloche patterning fills the remaining field. Denomination and issuer inscriptions are arranged in the typographic style characteristic of late nineteenth-century colonial bank note production. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in orange, the reverse centres on the crowned Spanish royal arms as its principal vignette, rendered against a restrained plain field consistent with the austere aesthetic of late nineteenth-century colonial issues. The composition relies on the heraldic device alone to convey sovereign authority, with minimal decorative support. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Español de Puerto Rico was the island's sole authorized bank of issue under Spanish colonial administration, established in 1888 — meaning this note appeared almost immediately after the bank opened. The American Bank Note Company contract was typical of Spanish colonial issuers in this period; Madrid had no objection to using a New York printer for Caribbean currency, and ABNC had long experience with Spanish-language issues throughout Latin America.
Puerto Rico's financial system was overhauled entirely after 1898, and Spanish-issued paper was withdrawn following American annexation. Survivor notes from this series owe their existence largely to collections rather than hoarding — circulating examples were redeemed and destroyed.