50 Escudos Overprint on 50 000 Pesos P#123

Chile's 1960 monetary reform lopped three zeros off the peso, creating the escudo at a rate of 1,000 pesos to one escudo. Rather than commission entirely new stock, the Banco Central authorized the Casa de Moneda to overprint existing 50,000-peso notes with the new denomination — a stopgap that kept currency physically available during the transition before purpose-designed escudo notes could be produced in sufficient quantity.

The overprint series is consequential for collectors precisely because its lifespan was short. Replacement notes arrived quickly, and overprinted examples were withdrawn and destroyed in volume. Surviving circulated specimens typically show the handling of an actively used bridging currency rather than a note anyone thought worth preserving.