Description and research notes
Issued 1907 Banco de la República 5 Pesos note, cataloged as Pick 156 and printed by Waterlow & Sons, London. This is the original, non-overprinted base type from which the later 1912 5 Pesos emergency state-overprint issue was created. In this untouched issued form, without the later “Emisión del Estado” oval stamp and without the additional reverse Treasury validation seen on the dual-side fiscalized variety, the note preserves the full Waterlow & Sons design as Paraguay originally released it under the monetary framework of 1907.
This note is the foundation of the entire 5 Pesos 1907 to 1912 revalidation group. The cataloged 1912 state overprint issue, Pick 127, was created directly by applying the January 1912 state-emission overprint to this Pick 156 base design. The rarer dual-side state and Treasury revalidation variety also uses this same Pick 156 foundation, but adds both the face state overprint and the reverse “Departamento de Hacienda – Junta Fiscalizadora” validation under the decree of 20 May 1912. This issued Pick 156 therefore stands as the clean reference point for the whole administrative ladder: original bank obligation, state-revalidated issue, and Treasury-fiscalized issue.
The monetary wording on the face is central to the note’s historical meaning. The printed clause reads “Moneda Nacional ó Cincuenta Centavos Oro Sellado,” identifying the 5 Pesos paper denomination with a formal value relationship to fifty centavos in sealed gold. In 1907, this language belonged to the original Banco de la República issue. By 1912, the same wording became highly important because the Paraguayan state used it as part of the logic behind the later emergency revalidations. The overprints did not invent the gold-reference language; they were applied to notes that already carried it. This issued example shows that original value formula before crisis-era state intervention changed the note’s legal and fiscal status.
The design is one of Waterlow & Sons’ most attractive small-denomination Paraguayan productions. The face features a central allegorical female portrait beneath the large Banco de la República title, flanked by ornate 5 Pesos denomination panels and framed by dense black intaglio ornament. Pale blue underprinting spreads across the lower half of the note, giving depth to the security design and separating the red serial number from the engraved black border. The Serie A designation, formal promise-to-pay wording, and engraved signatures reinforce the institutional character of the original issue.
The reverse, printed in brown, is built around a balanced arrangement of large denomination medallions and the national emblem of Paraguay. The central arms, wreath, and star are surrounded by fine guilloché work and ornamental rosettes, with the Waterlow & Sons imprint placed along the lower design. This reverse becomes especially important when compared with the dual-side revalidated variety, because the later Treasury overprint was placed directly over this brown security design. On the present issued note, the reverse remains undisturbed, showing the original artwork before it was converted into a fiscal validation surface.
PMG identifies this example as Pick 156, Money Portal number MC160.a-b, with serial number A 0017632, printer Waterlow & Sons, and watermark 5. The watermark is a key production feature because it confirms the physical paper stock used for the denomination. In the context of the 5 Pesos revalidation trio, the watermark helps anchor the relationship between the issued base note and the later overprinted forms. Beneath every later state or Treasury marking was this original Waterlow paper, engraving, watermark, and value clause.
The issued Pick 156 also provides the clearest visual comparison for the 1912 overprinted notes. On the single-side Pick 127 issue, the face overprint crosses the central portrait and title, visibly placing state authority over the original banknote. On the dual-side Pick Unlisted variety, the reverse overprint adds the Departamento de Hacienda and Junta Fiscalizadora layer and repeats the “Cincuenta Centavos Oro Sellado” value formula. Without the issued note, those later interventions can be misunderstood as isolated markings. With the issued note present, the full sequence becomes clear: Paraguay first had a refined Banco de la República note, then turned surviving stock into emergency state currency, and in special cases added further Treasury control.
Certified PMG 65 EPQ Gem Uncirculated, this example is an exceptional survivor of the original issued type. The grade confirms both high preservation and exceptional paper quality, important for a note that was not a specimen or proof but a circulating issue. Most original banknotes of this period were handled, circulated, redeemed, or lost, and high-grade survivors are far less common than the design’s formal elegance might suggest. This piece preserves the portrait, tint, engraving, serial number, watermark-confirmed paper, and reverse design with the clarity needed for serious comparison across the full issue family.
Within the 5 Pesos trio, this issued Pick 156 is the beginning of the story. The Pick 127 state overprint shows the January 1912 emergency conversion. The dual-side state and Treasury revalidation shows the additional fiscal-control stage tied to the May 1912 decree. This note shows the original monetary promise before either of those interventions occurred. As such, it is not merely a beautiful high-grade issued note, but the base document that explains the later overprint hierarchy.
As a PMG 65 EPQ Gem Uncirculated example of Pick 156, this note is a museum-grade reference for early twentieth-century Paraguayan paper money. It combines the original Banco de la República issue, Waterlow & Sons security engraving, the fifty-centavos gold-value clause, the denomination watermark, and the direct base identity for the 1912 emergency overprints. For the study of Paraguay’s monetary crisis and revalidation system, it is the foundation piece of the 5 Pesos sequence.