Catalog
20 Soles
| Issuer | Peru |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Soles (20 PEH) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | LA REPUBLICA DEL PERÚ PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR XX 20 Veinte Soles Conforme a ló dispuesto en las leyes de 27 de Enero y 4 de Febrero de 1879. POR LA JUNTA ADMINISTRADORA Y DE VIGILANCIA DE LA EMISION FISCAL. LIMA, JUNIO 30 DE 1879. (Translation: The Republic of Perú Will pay to the bearer Twenty Soles Accordingly to stated on Laws from January 27th. and February 4th., 1879. By Administrative and Oversight Board of Fiscal Issue Lima, June 30th., 1879.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Veinte Soles REPUBLICA DEL PERÚ 20 (Translation: Twenty Soles Republic of Peru) |
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| Comments |
Peru's 1879 issue falls squarely in the middle of the War of the Pacific, the conflict with Chile and Bolivia that would ultimately devastate the country's finances and force a complete collapse of its monetary system by the early 1880s. Whether notes from this series saw meaningful circulation before Chilean forces occupied Lima in 1881 — and the Banco de Lima effectively ceased operations — is an open question. Many issues from this period were never redeemed.
The American Bank Note Company had a near-monopoly on Peruvian government printing at this time, supplying successive issues as the fiscal situation deteriorated with each year of the war.