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. Produced by Thomas De La Rue and Company as non-circulating reference material, it preserves the full engraved design of the Serie A type while being permanently invalidated through mechanical perforation rather than ink overprint.
The obverse bears the printed designation SERIE A at left and right, confirming its place within the first alphabetic subdivision of the 1939 issue. The serial format follows the controlled all-zero specimen convention with prefix A and number 000000, a configuration reserved exclusively for specimen handling and never associated with circulation output. No printed SPECIMEN overprint or oval ink control stamp appears on the face. Instead, cancellation is executed through a diagonal perforated inscription reading CANCELLED, physically removing monetary validity while leaving the engraved composition clearly legible.
The central design retains the formal intaglio framework characteristic of late interwar De La Rue production. The denomination CIEN PESOS is integrated within an ornate guilloche panel beneath the national coat of arms, while the right side presents a classical allegorical female figure holding the Constitution, symbolizing civic order and republican legality. Architectural and industrial motifs behind the portrait reinforce the state-directed modernization narrative embedded in Uruguay’s late 1930s monetary imagery.
The reverse displays a detailed historical scene framed by elaborate border engraving. Crowds gather before a civic structure, flags raised, forming a dense narrative tableau executed in layered line work. The denomination CIEN PESOS appears prominently along the lower margin. The perforated CANCELLED inscription traverses the reverse as well, confirming that invalidation was applied at sheet level across both sides rather than selectively on the obverse only.
Unlike printed-cancel specimens that rely on diagonal overprints and De La Rue oval control stamps, this perforated example reflects a more direct mechanical invalidation protocol. The absence of ink-based specimen markings emphasizes its character as institutional control material prepared for archival or internal reference use.
As a specimen of the 1939 one hundred pesos Serie A issue, this note documents the administrative handling practices of Uruguay’s central issuing authority and its London security printer during the late interwar period. It preserves the complete artistic and security vocabulary of the circulation design while recording the distinct perforated cancellation method employed to segregate reference impressions from monetary circulation.