2000 Pesos Uruguayos Biblioteca Nacional

Uruguay's Biblioteca Nacional, founded in 1816 during the turbulent early years of independence, is one of the oldest national libraries in Latin America. The 2016 issue marks its bicentennial. The institution survived decades of political instability, including the 1973 military coup that led to significant censorship and the removal of materials deemed subversive — a complicated chapter in the library's institutional history that makes the commemorative framing quietly pointed.