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5 Reales de Inca Provisional overprint on 5 Soles Compañía General del Perú
| Issuer | República del Perú |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Reales de Inca (0.50) |
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| Obverse description | Black and green bicolour letterpress on the host 5 Soles note of the Banco de la Compañía General del Perú (P#S132), with a vignette of José Gálvez in laurel crown at left and an equestrian group with mule train at centre; steam locomotive below. Black provisional overprints cancel the original issuer name with "BILLETE PROVISIONAL", alter the face value designation to "Rls.", and add three new manuscript signatures above the host signatures, with "CINCO REALES DE INCA" in letters at foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Black letterpress on the host note reverse, with a vignette of a man with llama at left and a steam locomotive at right; face value "5" in all four corners and at centre, "CINCO" in letters at top and bottom. Black provisional overprints add the legend of the República del Perú across the top, "CINCO REALES DE INCA" at centre, issuing date and location at lower left and right (the right date rendered in inverted Y-M-D order), and the printed signature of the President of Perú. Printer imprint "American Bank Note Co New York" at lower right of host note. |
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| Comments |
In the chaos following Chile's occupation of Lima in January 1881, Peru's provisional government under Francisco García Calderón needed a functional currency fast. The solution was pragmatic to the point of improvisation: existing Compañía General del Perú 5 Soles notes, already printed by the American Bank Note Company, were overprinted to create a new denomination tied to the "Inca" monetary unit — a short-lived system that never gained real traction.
The Inca currency scheme collapsed before it could be properly implemented, making circulated survivors genuinely uncommon. Many notes were overprinted but never actually issued.