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20 Pesos Regent Queen Maria Cristina
| Issuer | Banco Español de Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894-1897 |
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| Value | 20 Pesos |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in blue, the reverse is dominated by a large central vignette of the crowned Spanish royal arms set within an elaborate architectural surround with columns, enclosed by fine guilloche borders. The denomination numeral 20 appears at left and right, with the bank name BANCO ESPAÑOL DE PUERTO RICO inscribed at the top. The printer's imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK appears at the bottom margin. |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO ESPAÑOL DE PUERTO RICO 20 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK |
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| Comments |
The Banco Español de Puerto Rico was established by royal decree in 1888 as the island's sole bank of issue, operating under Spanish colonial authority at a moment when Cuba and Puerto Rico were the last significant remnants of Spain's American empire. This note was produced by the American Bank Note Company — a routine commercial arrangement that Spanish colonial banks maintained with New York printers throughout the late 19th century, geography and politics notwithstanding.
The regency of Maria Cristina of Austria ran from 1885 until Alfonso XIII came of age in 1902, and the titular designation on this series reflects that administrative reality. Puerto Rico passed to the United States in December 1898 under the Treaty of Paris, rendering the banco's notes obsolete almost immediately — a circulation window of just a few years for any note dated toward the end of this range.