5 Pesos Plata Boliviana

San Luís was one of several Argentine interior provinces that issued their own paper currency in the early 1870s, when the national government had not yet established the monetary framework that would eventually consolidate under the Banco Nacional in 1872. Provincial treasuries filled the gap, often printing notes of dubious backing and erratic circulation. The "Plata Boliviana" denomination is notable — it anchored the note's value to Bolivian silver coinage rather than to any Argentine standard, reflecting the commercial reality of a landlocked province whose trade flows ran as much toward the northwest as toward Buenos Aires.

PS#1396 is rare in any condition. Provincial Argentine issues from this period were typically printed in small quantities, circulated hard in local commerce, and were never systematically redeemed.