Catalog
5 Centavos Fuertes Banco del Paraguay
| Issuer | Banco del Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 90 × 45 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | El Banco del Paraguay Asunción, 1ro de Enero de 1882. 5 Pagará al portador Y Á LA VISTA CINCO CENTAVOS FUERTES en monedas de oro ó plata sellada de curso legal. (Translation: The Bank of Paraguay Asunción, January 1st., 1882. Will pay to bearer, at sight, Five Centavos Fuertes in coins of gold or sealed silver, of legal tender.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco del Paraguay was established in 1880 as the country's first proper commercial bank, just seven years after the catastrophic War of the Triple Alliance had reduced Paraguay's adult male population to near-collapse. This note belongs to the bank's founding series — printed by the American Bank Note Company, which handled the bulk of Latin American currency work in this period and brought a consistency of intaglio quality that no local press could match.
At 5 centavos fuertes, this is the lowest denomination in the series. Small-denomination notes from this issue survive in far worse condition than the higher values, a reliable sign of genuine circulation among a cash-poor postwar population.