Description and research notes
Issued banknote of the Banco Oriental of Uruguay, dated 1 de Agosto de 1867 and printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York. This issue represents the foundational appearance of the Banco Oriental 10 Pesos = 1 Doblón de Oro Sellado denomination and establishes the complete visual, symbolic, and technical template later reused for subsequent reauthorizations in the early 1870s.
The obverse design follows the classic American Bank Note Company international style of the mid-nineteenth century. At left, two allegorical female figures personify Commerce and Abundance, rendered in finely engraved classical style. At right, the national coat of arms of Uruguay appears above crossed flags and laurel branches, emphasizing state authority and political legitimacy. A bold central orange guilloche surrounds the inscription “UN DOBLÓN DE ORO SELLADO,” explicitly referencing gold-backed value and convertibility, an essential confidence mechanism in Uruguay’s developing monetary system.
This example, serial number 55818, belongs to the earliest issuance state of Pick S385a and carries a single handwritten circulation signature placed at the right side of the designated signature area. At this stage, Banco Oriental authorization relied on a single signing official applied manually in ink after printing and numbering. No secondary signature was present or required under the original issuance framework.
Systematic comparison of known surviving examples demonstrates that right-side signature placement represents the original spatial logic of the design. This same position was later retained when handwritten signatures were replaced by mechanically printed facsimile signatures, indicating continuity of layout rather than redesign. The signature position therefore functions as a structural marker of the initial authorization model rather than a decorative choice.
This note is certified by Paper Money Guaranty as PMG 15 Choice Fine and is designated on the grading label as plate position pp B. While PMG does not formally define plate position categories within the Pick catalog, such annotations document internal production or numbering distinctions recognized during third-party examination and provide additional technical context for comparative study.
Printed on thin, high-quality paper stock consistent with American Bank Note Company Latin American contracts of the 1860s, the note exhibits fine line engraving, precise guilloche work, and the mature security printing standards that underpinned Uruguay’s reliance on foreign printers during its formative banking period.
Cataloged as Pick S385a, this issued note anchors a documented sequence of authorization and signature practices that evolved rapidly during the late 1860s. Serial 55818 serves as the reference point for the original single-signature format from which later dual-signature, transitional, and fully facsimile states emerged.