Catalog
5 Sucres Banco Sur Americano
| Issuer | Banco Sur Americano |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO SUR AMERICANO PAGARÁ A LA VISTA AL PORTADOR CINCO SUCRES EN MONEDA CORRIENTE QUITO ENERO 2 DE 1920 SÉRIE B GERENTE PRESIDENTE DEL DIRECTORIO (Translation: The South American Bank will pay to the bearer at sight Five Sucres in current money. Quito, January 2nd, 1920. Series B. Manager. Chairman of the Board.) |
| Reverse description | Central allegorical vignette in blue intaglio engraving presents a standing classical female figure, laurel-crowned and robed, with arms outstretched holding a torch and a fasces-like implement, set against radiating lines suggestive of glory or enlightenment. Two ornate guilloche rosettes, each enclosing the numeral '5' above 'SUCRES', flank the central figure at left and right, while a smaller numeral '5' in a circle appears at bottom centre. The entire composition is enclosed within a dense engine-turned border with scalloped outer edges. |
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| Comments |
Banco Sur Americano was one of several Ecuadorian private banks authorized to issue currency under the country's decentralized banking regime, which persisted until the Banco Central del Ecuador was established in 1927. The American Bank Note Company printed for numerous Latin American issuers during this period, and the plates used for smaller regional Ecuadorian banks were often produced on tighter budgets than those for the major national institutions — worth noting when assessing print quality on surviving examples.
The S252 designation places this firmly in the private bank series for Ecuador. Private emission rights were extinguished by the 1927 monetary reform, making 1920s-era provincial bank notes a finite and closed series.