Catalog
50 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Colonial Británico |
|---|---|
| Year | 1839 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is laid out in a horizontal format with the denomination "$50" displayed in oval cartouches at both the upper left and upper right corners. A central heraldic vignette presents a royal coat of arms flanked by two lions rampant as supporters, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. Below the arms, a body text in cursive script reads the promise to pay fifty pesos seycellos to the bearer in Caracas, with blanks for date and signatures, and the imprint "VENEZUELA" appears along the lower border in bold letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO COLONIAL BRITANICO $50 Vale por CINCUENTA PESOS SEYCELLOS que se pagarán al portador, en Caracas, á la presentación de este billete, en moneda corriente, de los fondos del BANCO COLONIAL BRITÁNICO de de 18 CARACAS de de 18 Ent° Por disposición de los Directores del Banco Colonial. SON CINCUENTA PESOS SPECIMEN. Administrador Contador VENEZUELA |
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| Comments |
Banco Colonial Británico is the Spanish-language rendering used on notes intended for circulation in the River Plate region — this was the British-owned Bank of the River Plate's operating identity in Buenos Aires. The 1839 date places this note in a particularly turbulent stretch of Argentine history: the Rosas dictatorship was at its height, and the city had just endured the failed Lavalle uprising. Foreign banks were operating in an environment of currency chaos, with depreciated government paper and chronic specie shortages forcing commercial houses to rely heavily on private bank credit instruments.
Surviving examples from this issue are genuinely rare. Provincial Argentine paper from the late 1830s suffered heavy attrition through redemption, fire, and simple neglect.