Banco del Perú was a private commercial bank that operated during Peru's turbulent fiscal period in the 1870s, competing with several other note-issuing institutions before the monetary crises of the late decade effectively collapsed the free banking system. The Compañía Nacional de Billetes de Banco — the National Bank Note Company of New York — printed for numerous Latin American clients during this period, often supplying the plates, paper, and finished sheets to issuers who lacked domestic production capacity.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference flags this as a private or provincial bank issue, not a government emission — a distinction that matters for redemption history, as these notes had no state guarantee behind them.
Banco del Perú was a private commercial bank that operated during Peru's turbulent fiscal period in the 1870s, competing with several other note-issuing institutions before the monetary crises of the late decade effectively collapsed the free banking system. The Compañía Nacional de Billetes de Banco — the National Bank Note Company of New York — printed for numerous Latin American clients during this period, often supplying the plates, paper, and finished sheets to issuers who lacked domestic production capacity.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference flags this as a private or provincial bank issue, not a government emission — a distinction that matters for redemption history, as these notes had no state guarantee behind them.