50 Pesos

The Provincia del Chaco 50 Pesos is one of several provincial quasi-currencies — locally called "Quebrachos" — issued by Argentine provinces during the economic crisis that preceded the December 2001 collapse of the currency board and the government of Fernando de la Rúa. With the federal government restricting money supply under convertibility constraints, cash-strapped provinces turned to their own scrip to pay salaries and suppliers. Chaco, one of Argentina's poorest provinces, had little choice.

Printed by Casa de Moneda, the national mint, these notes carried a veneer of official legitimacy that purely provincial prints lacked — though they were never legal tender outside the issuing province and were redeemed at varying discounts once the crisis passed.