Catalog
5 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Buenos Ayres |
|---|---|
| Year | 1826 |
| Type | Local banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Plain paper note with engraved text and vignette in brown ink. At upper left, a rectangular panel inscribed '5 Pesos' frames the denomination; to its right, the bank title 'EL BANCO DE Buenos Ayres' is rendered in ornate script. The Argentine coat of arms vignette appears at the centre-left, surrounded by a laurel wreath, above a promise-to-pay text in Spanish reading 'Promete pagar al portador y a la vista la cantidad de CINCO PESOS en moneda metálica, Buenos Ayres, [date] de 1826'. The lower portion carries two manuscript signatures over the printed legends 'el Contador' and 'Presidente', with an additional line 'Por los Directores y Accionistas'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO DE Buenos Ayres 5 Pesos Nº Promete pagar al portador y a la vista la cantidad de CINCO PESOS en moneda metálica Buenos Ayres Por los Directores y Accionistas el Contador Presidente |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco de Buenos Ayres was established in 1822 under the influence of Bernardino Rivadavia as part of an ambitious — and ultimately disastrous — program of fiscal modernization. By 1826, the bank had already abandoned convertibility, suspending specie payments the previous year as silver reserves collapsed under the strain of the war against Brazil. Notes issued at this moment circulated in an economy where paper currency had effectively become forced tender, trading at a steep discount against hard coin.
Printed locally rather than by one of the established European security printers, production quality is notably uneven across the series. PS#321 is among the earliest catalogued Argentine paper issues.