Catalog
500 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Chile |
|---|---|
| Year | 1912-1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Pesos |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPUBLICA DE CHILE Vale por 500 Quinientos Pesos convertibles en oro por el Estado conforme á la lei. SPECIMEN SANTIAGO American Bank Note Co., New York (Translation: Republic of Chile worth for Five Hundred Pesos Convertible into gold by the State in accordance of the Law Santiago) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE CHILE 500 500 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK (Translation: Republic of Chile) |
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| Comments |
The República de Chile issued this high-denomination note during a period of acute monetary instability driven by the country's inconvertibility crisis — Chile had suspended gold convertibility in 1878 and never fully restored it, leaving paper circulation chronically overextended into the early twentieth century. A 500 Peso note in this environment was a serious instrument, not pocket money; it circulated among merchants, exporters, and institutions conducting the kind of business the nitrate trade generated.
ABNC produced the series in New York under contract, as they did for most of Chile's formal banknote output in this period. The engraved intaglio work is characteristic of their best commercial quality for South American government clients.