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. Belonging to Serie A of the 1939 emission, it was produced by Thomas De La Rue and Company of London as official non-circulating reference material for institutional control and archival documentation.
By 1939 the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay functioned as the central authority of the national monetary system, combining issuance, regulation, and commercial banking roles. Within the denomination hierarchy of the series, the one hundred pesos formed an important upper-tier working value below the five hundred and one thousand pesos, bridging large commercial settlement with broader circulation needs. Specimen examples record the administrative and production controls behind that monetary structure rather than everyday transactional use.
The obverse displays a formal engraved composition characteristic of De La Rue’s late interwar intaglio production. Republica ORIENTAL DEL URUGUAY dominates the upper register, while CIEN PESOS is integrated into an ornate architectural cartouche at center. The right-side allegorical figure, holding the Constitution, embodies civic authority and legal order, framed by finely executed industrial and urban elements. This example is identified as Serie A and carries a controlled all-zero serial format with prefix A. At the lower margin, the printed inscription SPECIMEN No. 13 confirms its assigned position within the documented specimen preparation of the denomination.
Cancellation follows a restrained printed protocol. A single black oval printer control stamp reading SPECIMEN DE LA RUE – CANCELLED is applied on the obverse. Notably, there is no large diagonal SPECIMEN overprint across the face and no overprint on the reverse, distinguishing this Serie A handling format from later or alternate specimen treatments that employed broader red overprints. The absence of a diagonal overprint preserves the full visual integrity of the engraved composition while the oval stamp alone renders the note permanently non-monetary.
The reverse presents a historical civic scene engraved in red tones, depicting a public gathering before monumental architecture, symbolizing national history and collective identity. The composition is framed by elaborate ornamental borders and denomination panels in each corner. With no diagonal overprint applied to the reverse, the entire allegorical scene remains uninterrupted, reinforcing the specimen’s role as a complete institutional reference impression.
As a Serie A specimen numbered 13, this note documents an early controlled position within the 1939 production sequence for the one hundred pesos denomination. It stands as material evidence of Uruguay’s structured specimen management practices and of Thomas De La Rue’s calibrated cancellation methods during the late interwar period.