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5 Colones

Issuer Banco Salvadoreño
Year 1920
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Value 5 Colones
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Obverse description Multicolour note with a central intaglio vignette of a seated female allegorical figure holding a sheaf of wheat, surrounded by an elaborate guilloche border with large numeral '5' medallions at left and right. The bank title 'EL BANCO SALVADOREÑO' arcs across the top, with the place of issue 'SAN SALVADOR' at upper left and the date '1° DE JUNIO DE 1920' at upper right. The denomination 'CINCO COLONES EN MONEDA ACUÑADA DE ORO' appears in a panel beneath the central vignette, with three signature lines for Administrador, Director, and Cajero at the lower portion.
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Reverse lettering BANCO SALVADOREÑO
5
American Bank Note Company
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Banco Salvadoreño was one of several Salvadoran private issuing banks operating under the country's pluralist banking system before the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador was established in 1934 and the right of private note issue was extinguished. The American Bank Note Company handled the printing for most of these institutions — not because of any official mandate, but because ABNC had effectively cornered the Latin American private bank contract market by this period, offering security printing that domestic facilities simply could not match.

The S-prefix Pick reference places this firmly in the specialized territory of Salvadoran private bank issues, a series that sees relatively thin collector coverage compared to the later central bank notes. Earlier Salvador private issues are scarcer than their nominal rarity suggests — many were redeemed and pulped during the 1934 consolidation.