50 Pesos

The Province of Buenos Aires operated its own fiscal apparatus well before any stable national monetary system existed in Argentina, and this note — issued jointly by the Treasury and Customs — reflects that administrative reality. The dual ministerial authority printed on these obligations was a practical necessity: customs revenue was among the few reliable income streams available to the provincial government, and tying paper obligations to that source gave them at least nominal backing.

1820 was a year of acute political fragmentation — the collapse of central authority following the Battle of Cepeda left Buenos Aires effectively governing itself. Notes of this type circulated in a market that had little reason to trust them.