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4 Reales Plata Boliviana
| Issuer | Banco del Comercio, Gualeguay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Reales Plata Boliviana |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is laid out with a vertical left panel bearing the text BANCO DEL COMERCIO in a serif typeface. At centre-left, a large numeral '4' underprint dominates the field, overlaid by a standing figure vignette of a man in period dress. To the right, the bank title EL BANCO DEL COMERCIO appears at the top, beneath which the series designation '2a Serie' and a serial number in an oval frame are printed. The redemption clause reads 'Pagará a la vista UN PESO plata Boliviana al portador de DOS de estos billetes', with the place and date 'Gualeguay 1° de Julio 1869' and the imprint 'Por el Banco' at lower right. Guilloche-style ornamental borders frame the entire composition. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO DEL COMERCIO EL BANCO DEL COMERCIO 2a Serie Pagará a la vista UN PESO plata Boliviana al portador de DOS de estos billetes Gualeguay 1° de Julio 1869 Por el Banco 4 Reales |
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| Comments |
Banco del Comercio was one of several provincial Argentine free-banking era institutions that issued notes denominated in Bolivian silver reales rather than the national peso — a reflection of how thoroughly Bolivian coinage had penetrated the Río de la Plata interior during the mid-nineteenth century. In Entre Ríos province, where Gualeguay sits, Bolivian fractional silver circulated more reliably than domestic coin throughout the 1860s.
Argentine provincial bank notes from this period are genuinely rare survivors. Most free-banking institutions operating outside Buenos Aires were short-lived, and redemption or simple destruction claimed the bulk of their paper. The PS prefix in the Pick numbering signals exactly that — South American private and provincial issues where census populations remain poorly documented.