1 Sol

The Banco de Lima was one of several private commercial banks that emerged in Peru during the guano boom years, when Lima's merchant elite briefly had the capital and the political connections to establish note-issuing institutions. The National Bank Note Company, which produced this note, was at the time competing aggressively with the American Bank Note Company for exactly this kind of Latin American contract work — a rivalry that shaped the quality and style of engraving across the continent during the 1870s.

Peru's private banking system effectively collapsed following the War of the Pacific, which began in 1879. Notes from the Banco de Lima that survived that period rarely did so in circulation — the bank's operations were badly disrupted, and most remaining paper became worthless before any formal redemption could occur.