Catalog
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| Issuer | Monte de Piedad de Lima |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#S564 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL MONTE DE PIEDAD DE LIMA CUATRO SOLES CUATRO 4 |
| Reverse description | Uniformly printed in green, the reverse centres on the bold letterpress inscription 'CUATRO SOLES.' within an elaborate guilloche border. The issuer's name is split across two lines above and below the central text reading 'MONTE DE PIEDAD' and 'DE LIMA', with the denomination numeral '4' repeated in each corner within ornate medallion frames. The printer's imprint of the American Bank Note Company, New York, appears in small text at the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Monte de Piedad de Lima was a pawnbroking and charitable lending institution, not a central bank — its authority to issue paper currency was a pragmatic concession by Peruvian authorities during the severe monetary disruptions of the 1870s and early 1880s, a period bracketed by the War of the Pacific. Notes from quasi-private and charitable issuers like this one circulated alongside, and often in competition with, state-backed paper, and public confidence in them varied sharply by region.
The American Bank Note Company engraved and printed for dozens of Latin American clients simultaneously during this period, and the 4 Soles denomination is an unusual face value — not the round figures that dominate most series, which suggests it was calibrated to a specific transactional need within the Monte's lending operations.