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2 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Chile (Government Issue) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885-1895 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black on green underprint. At left, an intaglio portrait vignette of Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada; the central field carries a landscape vignette of a village scene, with the National Arms also positioned at left. Two official handstamps appear on the face: a Type I oval reading DIRECCION DEL TESORO-SANTIAGO and a Type II strike reading DIRECCION DE CONTABILIDAD-SANTIAGO, applied as authorization marks. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in brown, the reverse is entirely covered by an intricate engine-turned guilloche framework composed of interlocking oval and lozenge-shaped lathe-work rosettes, corner ornaments, and geometric border panels. A bold numeral 2 in ornate scroll style occupies the left-center medallion, with the legend REPÚBLICA DE CHILE set in large serif capitals across the middle field. At right, an oval medallion encloses the legal tender text in small compressed lettering, citing the Lei de 10 de Abril de 1879. |
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| Comments |
Chile's government-issued peso notes of this period emerged from a monetary crisis rather than routine policy. The 1878 suspension of gold convertibility — pushed through as Chilean banks buckled under the strain of a global credit contraction — left the state issuing paper currency directly, bypassing the commercial banking system that had previously handled note circulation. This series was produced across a decade-long window during which convertibility was not restored, and the notes functioned as inconvertible fiat in everything but name.
The American Bank Note Company held a near-monopoly on South American government printing work through this period, which partly explains the visual consistency across otherwise unrelated issuing authorities from Buenos Aires to Santiago.