Catalog
| Issuer | Banco Agrícola Mercantil |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Peso (1878-1912) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO AGRICOLA MERCANTIL BANCO FUNDADO POR LEONARDO LACAYO EM 1888 Pagará al portador y a la vista la cantidad de CINCUENTA PESOS EN MOEDA ACUÑADA León, Nic. Nov. 6 de 1888. American Bank Note Co., N.Y. (Translation: The Mercantile Agricultural Bank Bank founded by Leonardo Lacayo in 1888 It will pay to the bearer and on sight the amount of Fifty Pesos in minted currency León, Nic. November 6, 1888. American Bank Note Co., N.Y.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO AGRICOLA MERCANTIL 50 CINCUENTA AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK (Translation: Mercantile Agricultural Bank 50 Fifty American Bank Note Company, New York) |
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| Comments |
Banco Agrícola Mercantil was a Guatemalan private bank operating under the liberal banking legislation of the 1880s, a period when the Guatemalan government granted concessions to multiple competing commercial banks, each authorized to issue their own circulating notes. The American Bank Note Company was the prestige choice for such institutions — expensive, but the engraved intaglio work was a credible deterrent against the forgeries that plagued lithographed regional issues.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference places this firmly in the Specialized catalog for private and provincial issues, reflecting its non-government status. Banco Agrícola Mercantil did not survive the 1926 nationalization that consolidated Guatemalan note issue under the Banco Central.