40 Centésimos de Real Essai

Uruguay's 1856 coinage program was among the first serious attempts to establish a nationally unified currency after decades of monetary chaos dominated by foreign specie — Spanish colonial reales, Brazilian mil-réis, and Argentine pesos all circulated interchangeably. This essai, struck in copper, was part of the evaluation process before the country committed to a final coinage design and metal specification. The centésimo decimal system it anticipated would not be formally adopted until 1862.