1 Sucre

Banco Internacional was one of several private Ecuadorian banks granted note-issuing rights under the country's free banking period, which lasted from the 1860s until the state moved to consolidate monetary authority in the late 1890s. Each institution backed its own circulation independently, and redemption reliability varied considerably — the Internacional had a reputation for relative solvency compared to some rivals, but the era was marked by chronic convertibility disputes.

Waterlow & Sons produced a long succession of Latin American private bank issues during this period, and the S172 falls squarely in that commercial run. The note predates Ecuador's 1898 banking law, which began the gradual process of restricting private emission.