20 Soles

Peru's 1879 issue arrived at the worst possible moment — the country entered the War of the Pacific against Chile and Bolivia that same year, and the financial strain of that conflict would eventually collapse the sol entirely. The American Bank Note Company had been supplying Peruvian currency since the early 1870s, and this note belongs to a short-lived series whose circulation was overtaken by emergency fiscal paper and, ultimately, military defeat.

By 1881, Chilean forces occupied Lima. Much of the currency infrastructure was disrupted, and redemption of pre-war notes became effectively impossible for most holders.