Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco Mauá & Cía. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Peso (1863-1975) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO MAUA & Cía. VEINTE PESOS EN BILLETES DE CURSO LEGAL VEINTE 20 PESOS 2 DOBLONES MONTEVIDEO, 1° DE MARZO DE 1871 Pagará al portador y a la vista or en su efecto en ORO SELLADO con arreglo al Art° 20 de la Ley de 4 de Mayo de 1870 VEINTEPESOS |
| Reverse description | Uniface back printed in dark ink, with the same ornate guilloche border pattern as the obverse repeated along all four margins. Large denomination numerals '20' appear in the upper corners and rosette panels carry 'VEINTE' and '2 DOBLONES' inscriptions, mirrored in reverse orientation. A central oval cancellation stamp is visible at centre, and the bottom border bears the legend 'VEINTE PESOS'. |
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| Comments |
Banco Mauá & Cía. was the Uruguayan arm of the financial empire built by Irineu Evangelista de Sousa — the Barão de Mauá — whose banking network stretched across Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina at its peak. By 1871, that empire was already under severe strain. Mauá's Brazilian bank had been fighting liquidity crises since the mid-1860s, and the Uruguayan operation was increasingly propped up by cross-border credit that was itself precarious.
The dual denomination — Doblones and Pesos — reflects the monetary instability of the Río de la Plata region, where multiple currency systems circulated simultaneously and issuers hedged by denominating in more than one unit. Banco Mauá collapsed entirely by 1875.