Description and research notes
A photographic proof pair for the 100 Pesos issue dated 1896, produced by the American Bank Note Company for the Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay. Printed in black on photographic paper and mounted on cardstock, this pair records the approved face and back designs prior to preparation of circulation plates.
The obverse presents a symmetrical composition centered on the denomination, flanked by dual engraved portrait medallions within an elaborate neoclassical framework. Dense guilloche work, micro-line borders, and layered ornamental elements reflect American Bank Note Company’s late nineteenth-century engraving practice, emphasizing visual authority and technical complexity.
The reverse features a pastoral and civic composition organized around the national arms, with figures, livestock, and landscape elements arranged in a balanced narrative scene. The engraving combines allegorical reference with representational detail, rendered with fine cross-hatching and controlled tonal transitions characteristic of the period.
These photographic proofs were created as archival records of the finalized engraving rather than as press trials or circulation material. Mounted on card and preserved as a complete face-and-back ensemble, the pair documents the design language employed for Uruguay’s higher-denomination notes at the close of the nineteenth century.
Certified by Professional Coin Grading Service Currency as Choice New 63 for both face and back, this proof pair survives in exceptional condition and represents a rare institutional record of American Bank Note Company production for Uruguay during the 1890s.