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5 Pesos

Issuer Banco Agrícola Mercantil
Year 1888
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Printer American Bank Note Company, New York, United States
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Reverse description Printed in brown, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche framework of interlocking scrollwork, rosettes, and lathe-work patterns filling the entire field. A large numeral "5" is set within a central guilloche panel, with the bank name "BANCO AGRICOLA-MERCANTIL" inscribed in a banner below and "BANCO" lettered at the top; the imprint of the American Bank Note Company, New York appears at the foot.
Reverse lettering BANCO AGRICOLA-MERCANTIL 5 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK
(Translation: Mercantile Agricultural Bank 5 American Bank Note Company, New York)
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Comments

Banco Agrícola Mercantil was a Guatemalan private bank operating under the 1874 banking law that opened the country to chartered note-issuing institutions. The American Bank Note Company produced paper for several Guatemalan private banks during this period, and the engraving quality on the S108 series reflects the firm's standard commercial work of the late 1880s rather than any bespoke commission.

Private bank notes in Guatemala were effectively displaced after 1926 when the Banco Central de Guatemala assumed sole right of issue. Surviving examples from 1888 private issuers are uncommon simply because redemption and destruction were thorough.