Catalog
50 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Español de Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889-1890 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black ink on blue and yellow underprint, with a vignette of the Paschal lamb at left and a vignette of Columbus sighting land at center right. Ornate guilloche work frames the central design elements throughout the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANCO ESPAÑOL DE PUERTO RICO |
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| Comments |
The Banco Español de Puerto Rico was established by royal decree in 1888 as the island's first bank of issue, operating under Spanish colonial authority at a moment when Puerto Rico's sugar economy was already in structural decline. This 50 Pesos note, printed by the American Bank Note Company, reflects the peculiar colonial arrangement of the period: a Spanish-chartered institution ordering its paper from a New York engraver while the island remained under Madrid's sovereignty.
The ABNC's involvement was not unusual for Latin American and Caribbean issuers of the period — the firm held engraving contracts across the hemisphere — but the bank's entire operational life was short. The Spanish-American War of 1898 effectively ended the institution, and post-war currency transitions meant large quantities of these notes were withdrawn and destroyed rather than redeemed at full value.
High-denomination survivors from this issue are uncommon precisely because of that abrupt cessation.