Description and research notes
This specimen note 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 official institutional reference material. It belongs specifically to Serie D as printed on the face of the note, reflecting the actual production series rather than the generalized A–B grouping sometimes shown on third-party labels.
Within the 1939 emission structure, the one hundred pesos denomination occupied an upper mid-tier role in Uruguay’s monetary hierarchy. It was designed for substantial commercial transactions, treasury operations, and interbank settlement while remaining more broadly circulating than the five hundred and one thousand pesos denominations. Specimen examples of this type document printer control procedures and distribution practices rather than monetary circulation.
The obverse features a bold red diagonal SPECIMEN overprint across the central field, accompanied by two red oval control stamps reading “SPECIMEN – DE LA RUE & CO LTD – NO VALUE.” These stamps appear in the upper left and lower right corners. Unlike perforated-cancel variants, this example employs ink-based cancellation only, with no punch perforations. The all-zero serial format confirms its non-circulating status, and the lower margin reads “SPECIMEN No. 2,” identifying its position within the controlled specimen numbering sequence for Serie D.
The engraved obverse composition presents the national arms at center within an intricate guilloche frame, flanked by allegorical representation and industrial imagery. The denomination CIEN PESOS is integrated prominently within a structured ornamental panel. The design language reflects De La Rue’s late-interwar intaglio precision, combining architectural framing, dense line texture, and symbolic national imagery.
The reverse depicts a large civic and historical allegorical scene rendered in red-brown intaglio, illustrating public assembly and national identity within an architectural setting. The composition balances crowd detail, architectural mass, and negative watermark space reserved at right. Red SPECIMEN overprint and red oval cancellation stamps are also present on the reverse, preserving consistency of institutional invalidation across both sides.
Printed in London by Thomas De La Rue and Company, this Serie D specimen illustrates the structured control protocols applied to Uruguay’s 1939 issue. The use of red overprint and dual oval cancellation stamps distinguishes it clearly from both perforated-cancel examples and black-stamped institutional variants. It stands as a documentary artifact of the administrative and security procedures governing high-denomination reference material within Uruguay’s modernized interwar monetary system.