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500 Pesos Fuertes Oficina de Cambios
| Issuer | Oficina de Cambios, Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Peso (1856-1944) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in lilac, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche underprint with dense lathe-work ornaments and four bold numeral "500" counters — two in large Gothic-style figures at left and right, and two further numerals at top and bottom center. The Paraguayan Coat of Arms, enclosed within a circular legend, occupies the central vignette, surrounded by symmetrical geometric and floral lathe-work patterns. The printer's imprint "American Bank Note Company, New York" appears in small lettering at the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY 500 (Translation: Republic of Paraguay 500) |
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| Comments |
Paraguay's Oficina de Cambios — the state exchange office — was not a central bank in any orthodox sense, but a mechanism for managing the chronic instability that had plagued Paraguayan currency since the country's near-annihilation in the War of the Triple Alliance. By 1920 the institution was issuing notes through ABNC on recycled or adapted plate work; the 500 Pesos Fuertes denomination sat at the high end of a series that most ordinary Paraguayans would rarely have handled in daily transactions.
ABNC's contract work for Paraguay during this period is notable for the reuse of engraved elements across multiple South American clients — a cost-saving practice that occasionally produced near-identical vignettes on notes from entirely different countries.