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40 Centavos Banco de Arequipa
| Issuer | Banco de Arequipa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1874 |
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| Currency | Sol (1863-1985) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse bears the bank title "El Banco de Arequipa" at the top, with a promise-to-pay text reading "Pagará à la vista cuarenta centavos al portador en moneda corriente" followed by the place and date fields "Arequipa, ... de ....... de 18XX". The denomination "40 CENTAVOS" appears in large numerals, framed within an elaborate guilloche border typical of National Bank Note Company engraving. The printer's imprint "Compañia Nacional de Billetes de Banco, Nueva York" appears at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 40 CENTAVOS EL BANCO DE AREQUIPA CUARENTA CENTAVOS Compañia Nacional de Billetes de Banco, Nueva York. |
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| Comments |
The Banco de Arequipa was one of several private regional banks established in Peru during the 1870s under the banking law of 1873, which allowed provincial institutions to issue their own notes — a short-lived arrangement that collapsed when the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) devastated the Peruvian economy and effectively ended private note issue in the country. Arequipa's commercial elite had long operated semi-independently from Lima, and the bank reflected that regional financial ambition.
The 40-centavo denomination is an odd unit, more consistent with fractional currency needs in a silver-scarce local economy than with standard banking practice. The National Bank Note Company's contract work for Latin American clients was extensive during this period, though the firm had already been absorbed into the American Bank Note Company by 1879.