Description and research notes
Choice Uncirculated 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos note, printed by Waterlow & Sons, London, and later revalidated as part of Paraguay’s 1912 emergency state emission. The note is cataloged as Pick 127, created by applying the large oval face overprint “Emisión del Estado – Ley de 11 de Enero de 1912” to the original 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos base type, Pick 156. This is the standard cataloged 5 Pesos state-overprint issue and the direct counterpart to the larger 100 Pesos Pick 134 overprint on base Pick 159.
The overprint marks a decisive administrative transformation. The original note began as a Banco de la República obligation issued under the 1907 monetary framework. In 1912, during a period of political disorder, fiscal instability, and urgent demand for usable circulating paper, the Paraguayan state repurposed existing banknote stocks rather than waiting for a completely new issue. The oval “Emisión del Estado” overprint announced that this older banknote had been accepted into the emergency currency system and was now recognized as a state-authorized obligation.
The 5 Pesos denomination is especially useful for understanding the full logic of the 1912 revalidation process. The base note carries the monetary wording “Moneda Nacional ó Cincuenta Centavos Oro Sellado,” linking the paper denomination to a gold-referenced value formula. This phrase was already part of the 1907 design, but in 1912 it became more meaningful because the government was attempting to preserve official monetary order while ordinary paper confidence was under pressure. The state overprint did not create the gold-value clause; it placed state authority over a note that already carried it.
Compared with the dual-side 5 Pesos revalidation variety, this Pick 127 example represents the first and standard level of official confirmation. The face overprint established the note as part of the January 1912 state emission. The rarer dual-side example added a second reverse validation from the Departamento de Hacienda and Junta Fiscalizadora under the decree of 20 May 1912. This makes the present note essential to the hierarchy: it shows the normal cataloged state-revalidated issue, while the dual-side note shows the additional Treasury-supervised fiscal layer.
The visual impact of the overprint is strong. The black oval state stamp crosses the center of the note, directly over the national emblem and the ornate Banco de la República title. It interrupts the original Waterlow engraving in a way that is historically meaningful rather than merely visual. The old banknote design remains fully visible, but it is now dominated by the emergency authority of the state. This is exactly what makes the 1912 overprint issues so important: they are not new notes, but old obligations visibly converted into public emergency currency.
The base design is a refined Waterlow & Sons production. The face combines black intaglio engraving, pale blue underprinting, large 5 Pesos denomination devices, a red serial number, and a dense guilloché security field. The Gothic-style Banco de la República lettering gives the note a strong institutional character, while the national emblem at center provides the ideal location for the later state overprint. The reverse, printed in brown, uses large denomination medallions, guilloché rosettes, and the national emblem to create a balanced and technically sophisticated security design.
This example is certified PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated. That level of preservation is significant for a provisional overprint issue, because such notes were created for emergency use rather than archival retention. Most surviving examples of Paraguay’s 1912 overprint currency show evidence of circulation, handling, or storage wear. A high-grade certified survivor preserves not only the original Waterlow paper and printing, but also the sharpness and placement of the state overprint itself.
The PMG label identifies this note as Pick 127, Money Portal number A.A.23, with serial number A 0016923, and confirms the printer as Waterlow & Sons. It also identifies the note as an overprint on Paraguay Pick 156, establishing its direct connection to the original 1907 5 Pesos base issue. This catalog relationship is important because the note belongs to a three-stage family: the untouched 1907 issued Pick 156, the 1912 state-overprinted Pick 127, and the dual-side state and Treasury revalidation variety that appears to stand outside the standard Pick listing.
Within the 5 Pesos trio, this note occupies the middle and essential position. The issued 1907 note shows the original Banco de la República obligation before intervention. This Pick 127 note shows the state assuming and revalidating that obligation through the January 1912 emergency overprint. The dual-side variety then adds the separate Treasury and Junta Fiscalizadora validation on the reverse. Together, the three notes document the full administrative ladder from bank issue, to state issue, to treasury-fiscalized issue.
As a PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated example of the cataloged 1912 state-overprint type, this note is a major reference piece for Paraguayan provisional paper money. It combines the rarity of high-grade emergency currency, the clarity of the 1912 state overprint, the technical quality of Waterlow & Sons engraving, and the historical importance of Paraguay’s attempt to restore monetary authority during a period of crisis. It is not simply a high-grade overprinted note; it is the standard 5 Pesos state-revalidated form against which the issued and dual-side fiscal varieties can be properly understood.