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4½ Centavos Fuertes
| Issuer | Banco Nacional |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark ink on plain paper, with the bank title EL BANCO NACIONAL in large bold letterpress across the upper portion, flanked on either side by the denomination numerals 0.04½ within ornate starburst cartouches. A central vignette at the top displays an oval coat of arms supported by guilloche framework. The text body states the place and date of issue, Buenos Aires, 2 de Enero 1879, the promise to pay the bearer on demand CUATRO Y MEDIO CENTAVOS FUERTES en las monedas determinadas por la Ley Nacional, with a red serial number and two manuscript signatures below, respectively captioned EL INSPECTOR and EL DIRECTORIO. A repeated marginal legend CUATRO Y MEDIO 4½ runs along all four borders. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | GUALEGUAYCHU 1879 |
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| Comments |
The 4½ Centavos Fuertes denomination is an oddity by any measure — fractional centavo notes are rare in Latin American banking history, and this one belongs to a brief, troubled chapter in Argentine provincial finance. The Banco Nacional's fractional emissions of 1879 were driven by a chronic shortage of small coin in circulation, a problem that plagued Argentina's interior throughout the 1870s as silver drained out faster than it could be replaced.
G. Kraft was a well-established Buenos Aires commercial printer, not a specialist security printer, which shows in the relatively modest production values of this series.