Description and research notes
This specimen represents the one hundred pesos denomination of the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay issued under the monetary law of 2 January 1939 and printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company. Identified on the note itself as SERIE B, it forms part of the alphabetic progression within the 1939 issue and preserves the complete engraved circulation design while being permanently invalidated for institutional reference use.
The obverse bears a bold diagonal black SPECIMEN overprint across the central field, combined with two oval black printer control stamps reading SPECIMEN DE LA RUE & CO LTD NO VALUE at the upper left and lower right. Unlike perforated-cancel examples, cancellation here is entirely ink-based. No punch cancellations are present. The serial format follows the controlled all-zero specimen convention with prefix B and number 000000, and the lower margin carries the printed designation SPECIMEN No. 9, confirming its position within the documented specimen numbering prepared for controlled distribution.
The design retains the classical intaglio structure characteristic of De La Rue’s late interwar production. At right appears the allegorical female figure holding the Constitution, symbolizing civic order and legal authority. The national coat of arms occupies the central rosette field, while CIEN PESOS is integrated within a layered guilloche framework. Architectural and industrial motifs in the background reinforce the narrative of state-guided modernization embedded in Uruguay’s monetary imagery of the period.
The reverse presents a large historical civic scene rendered in dense engraved linework. Figures assemble before a public building, flags raised, forming a panoramic tableau that expresses republican identity and collective civic memory. The black diagonal SPECIMEN overprint extends across the reverse as well, accompanied by the oval DE LA RUE control stamp, confirming that cancellation was applied consistently to both sides of the sheet.
As a black-overprint specimen of the 1939 one hundred pesos Serie B issue, this note documents the printer-controlled cancellation method employed for formal institutional reference material. It stands distinct from perforated CANCELLED variants by preserving the integrity of the paper while clearly segregating the impression from live monetary circulation.