Description and research notes
Specimen of the Banco de Londres y Río de la Plata, dated 10 de Noviembre de 1871, issued for the Rosario branch. Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, in green ink with intricate guilloche and portrait of General José de San Martín.
The note represents the British-owned Banco de Londres’ earliest Rosario issue, bridging Argentina’s Boliviana and Fuertes monetary systems. The bank, incorporated in London in 1862, operated across South America with branches in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, and Montevideo.
In Rosario, it was established in 1867 under Governor Nicasio Oroño as the city’s first bank, later facing disputes with the Banco Provincial de Santa Fe that led to diplomatic tensions with Britain.
This piece, serial number 000001, is a hole-cancelled specimen printed on Bradbury’s distinctive security paper, corresponding to the unlisted Pick S1741s family.