5 Centésimos Emergency Postal Script Issues

Uruguay's 1868 postal script notes emerged from a genuine coin shortage — fractional copper and silver had effectively vanished from circulation, hoarded or exported, leaving small transactions without a practical medium. The postal administration stepped in, issuing these scrip notes redeemable against postage, a workaround adopted across several Latin American nations during the same decades.

The 70 x 50 mm format reflects the practical constraints of the issuing office, not any banking standard. Survivors are scarce; most circulated until literally worn to illegibility.