Description and research notes
This specimen note represents the five hundred pesos denomination of the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay issued under the monetary law of 2 January 1939, within the Serie C printing of the interwar emission. Produced as an official non-circulating specimen by Thomas De La Rue and Company of London, the note was prepared for institutional reference, archival retention, and controlled distribution rather than for public monetary use.
By 1939, the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay functioned as the central institution of the national monetary system, combining commercial banking authority with responsibility for currency issuance, financial regulation, and monetary stability. Within the hierarchy of the 1939 series, the five hundred pesos occupied a high operational tier below the one thousand pesos, intended for treasury settlement, major commercial transactions, and upper-level accounting. Specimen examples document the administrative layer of that system rather than its circulation life.
The obverse displays the formal engraved layout characteristic of De La Rue’s late interwar intaglio production. The denomination QUINIENTOS PESOS is integrated into an architectural frame beneath the inscription Republica ORIENTAL DEL URUGUAY. The portrait vignette at right is rendered with dense linear modeling and industrial symbolism, reflecting Uruguay’s modernizing economic identity at the time. This example is identified as Serie C and bears a controlled all-zero serial format with prefix C, accompanied by the printed designation SPECIMEN No. 10 at the lower margin.
Cancellation follows the printed layered control method used for institutional specimens of this denomination. A bold diagonal red SPECIMEN overprint crosses the central field of the note. In addition, two red oval printer control stamps reading SPECIMEN DE LA RUE – CANCELLED are applied to the obverse. The reverse carries both the diagonal SPECIMEN overprint and a corresponding oval control stamp. This comprehensive cancellation protocol permanently invalidates the note for monetary use while preserving complete legibility of the engraved design.
The reverse presents the agricultural allegorical scene associated with the five hundred pesos type: figures engaged in harvest labor, livestock in the foreground, and a rural-industrial landscape beyond. Executed at full engraving standard, the composition emphasizes productivity, agrarian strength, and national continuity. The presence of both overprint and oval cancellation on the reverse confirms the specimen’s intended archival function as a complete institutional reference document rather than a provisional or partial proof.
As a Serie C specimen numbered 10, this example records a specific controlled position within the documented specimen preparation of the 1939 issue. It stands as material evidence of the production standards, denomination structure, and internal control practices that defined Uruguay’s state-issued currency system in the late interwar period.