Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco Francisco Argandoña |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Bradbury Wilkinson & Company, London |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO FRANCISCO ARGANDOÑA CINCUENTA BOLIVIANOS pagará a la vista al portador EN MONEDA CORRIENTE Emisión de Julio 1° de 1893 DELEGADO DEL GOBIERNO CAJERO GERENTE CINCUENTA 50 B |
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| Reverse lettering | FRANCISCO ARGANDOÑA BOLIVIA 50 |
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| Comments |
Banco Francisco Argandoña was a private commercial bank operating out of La Paz, one of several Bolivian departmental banks that issued their own notes during the country's fragmented banking era before the 1890 Ley de Bancos and subsequent consolidation pressure brought tighter state oversight. The bank was closely tied to the Argandoña family, a prominent La Paz mercantile dynasty. Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement is unsurprising — the London firm was the printer of choice for numerous South American private banks that wanted engraved notes credible enough to circulate alongside foreign coin.
Bolivia's private banking notes from this period were frequently refused outside their issuing department, which kept many notes close to home and, paradoxically, kept survival rates low.