3 Pesos Fuertes

Banco Nacional was one of several private banks operating in Argentina under the 1854 provincial banking law, and its notes circulated alongside — and often competed with — provincial emissions of wildly varying reliability. The American Bank Note Company handled much of the prestige printing work for South American issuers during this period, and the quality of engraving and paper was typically well above what circulating conditions actually preserved.

PS651 is a scarce survivor. Argentine private bank paper from this era suffered badly from the financial instability of the 1870s, and many Banco Nacional notes were withdrawn before the institution was reorganized in the lead-up to the 1890 Baring Crisis restructuring of Argentine banking.