Description and research notes
A complete photographic proof pair for the 1935 1 Peso issue produced by the American Bank Note Company for the Departamento de Emisión del Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay. This series marked Uruguay’s transition from the private-bank era to a unified national currency design following the monetary reorganization of 1933–1934.
The obverse presents José Gervasio Artigas at lower left within a crisply geometric intaglio frame, accompanied above by an allegorical female figure representing the Republic—an inter-war reinterpretation of classical liberty iconography. The reverse depicts a dramatic cavalry charge scene beneath radiant banners, flanked by the national arms and denomination cartouches. Both sides exhibit ABNC’s early 1930s shift toward balanced geometry, reduced floral guilloche, and the monumental clarity that defined its inter-war aesthetic.
Mounted on original card and graded PCGS 64 Very Choice New, this pair exemplifies the studio precision and production control ABNC employed in the photographic proof process: large-format contact prints made directly from the engraved master plates before color trials or final press approval. The 1935 1 Peso stands as the entry denomination in Uruguay’s modernized series, integrating national symbolism with the technical confidence of the new centralized issue.