Catalog
500 Pesos
| Issuer | Estado de Buenos Ayres |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is engraved in a classical letterpress style within a rectangular border of fine guilloche ornamental work, with the denomination QUINIENTOS printed in an upper panel and numerals 500 repeated at lower centre and side panels. A central vignette presents a standing soldier in classical armour holding a lance and shield, set against a landscape with a vessel at anchor in the background. The text El Estado de Buenos Ayres reconoce este Billete por QUINIENTOS Pesos Moneda Corriente is inscribed in elaborate script across the face, with the issuance date 1.o Mayo 1856 and manuscript signatures of the Directorio del Banco y Casa de Moneda below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | QUINIENTOS El Estado de Buenos Ayres Reconoce este Billete por QUINIENTOS Pesos MONEDA CORRIENTE Por el DIRECTORIO del Banco y Casa de Moneda 500 |
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| Comments |
El Estado de Buenos Ayres existed as a politically separate entity from the Argentine Confederation between 1852 and 1861, following Justo José de Urquiza's defeat of Rosas at Caseros. This note was issued during that secessionist interlude, when Buenos Aires operated its own treasury, its own customs revenues, and its own paper currency entirely independent of the Confederation's financial apparatus.
The PS prefix in Pick's Standard Catalog denotes provisional or state-level status — a reminder that this note's legal standing was contested almost from the moment of issue. Reunification in 1861 rendered the Estado's paper obsolete, and redemption was uneven at best.