5 Pesos

The Banco Particular de Descuento i Circulación de Guayaquil was one of Ecuador's earliest private note-issuing institutions, operating in a period when the country had no central bank and commercial banks in port cities effectively ran their own monetary systems. Guayaquil's position as the dominant Pacific export hub gave its banks genuine regional weight — a 5 Pesos note from this issuer would have circulated among merchants handling cacao and textile trade, not just local retail commerce.

Printed locally in 1862, this is an unusually early example of domestic production rather than a commission sent to a major European or North American security printer — a choice that typically left notes of this period more vulnerable to counterfeiting.