Catalog
50 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco San Fernando |
|---|---|
| Year | 1891 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The face is organized across three vignette panels enclosed within fine guilloche borders and ornamental rosettes. The central panel carries a detailed intaglio engraving of two allegorical female figures flanking the Chilean coat of arms with its lone star, while the left panel bears a large numeral '50' in orange underprint alongside the vertical legend 'EL BANCO' and the full denomination 'CINCUENTA PESOS / MONEDA CORRIENTE' in bold letterpress, with the right panel containing a cornucopia with agricultural produce. The bank title 'SAN FERNANDO' and regional designation 'COLCHAGUA' appear in large display type across the upper register, with the place and date line 'San Fernando, Chile' rendered in manuscript script below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO SAN FERNANDO COLCHAGUA CINCUENTA PESOS MONEDA CORRIENTE PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR A LA VISTA EN SAN FERNANDO San Fernando, Chile 50 |
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| Comments |
Banco San Fernando was one of the private commercial banks authorized to issue currency under Chile's 1860 banking law, which allowed note-issuing privileges without a central bank to regulate them. The system ran for decades but was effectively dismantled after Chile's 1925 monetary reforms established the Banco Central de Chile and terminated private issuance.
The American Bank Note Company printed for dozens of Latin American issuers in this period, and the San Fernando series is not among its more commonly encountered commissions. Fifty-peso denominations from provincial Chilean banks of this era survive in far smaller numbers than the lower values, which circulated harder and longer.