One Peso

Historical and Issue Context

The monetary chaos of the end of the century:During the 19th century, Puerto Rico lacked its own currency and depended on a chaotic mix of foreign currencies —mainly dollars and Mexican pesos— that the Spanish authorities attempted to control through perforations, countermarks, and successive decrees of 1870, 1884, and 1894. By 1895, the government decided to completely replace this foreign currency with a currency exclusive provincial for the island.

An ephemeral banknote:The Royal Decree of August 17, 1895 created this Exchange Note as a temporary instrument: foreign silver in circulation was collected in exchange for these notes, which were sent to Spain to mint the new provincial currency of Puerto Rico. Once minted, the note was redeemed for its equivalent in provincial silver — after discounting the transportation and minting costs —, in what is known as the “second exchange”. Its active circulation barely lasted a few months.

A surplus turned into a souvenir:an estimated five million of these notes were printed, far exceeding the amount of silver actually collected. The surplus was acquired by Leopoldo Cerecedo Millán's commercial firm, which distributed them with commemorative overprints in 1920 —the reason unoverprinted examples such as this one are more coveted by collectors.

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Central portrait:Juan Ponce de León, Spanish conquistador and first governor of Puerto Rico, depicted in profile with a beard and period attire within an engraved oval.
• Dry seal:on the right of the obverse, an embossed stamp (visible without ink) with the legend “Canje de Puerto Rico” and the image of a sailboat with an anchor, in direct reference to the Ministry of Overseas Affairs.
• Text of the obligation:“ REDEMPTION NOTE, created by the Artº 1º of the Rª Dª of August 17, 1895. WORTH ONE PESO”, with the printed signatures of the three responsible Treasury officials.
• Reverse:printing in green ink with the royal shield of Spain —castle and lion, stamped with crown—, flanked by ornamental foliage and the legend “EXCHANGE NOTE” on the lower cartouche.

Additional Context

Issued just three years before the end of Spanish rule on the island after the Spanish-American War of 1898, this note documents one of the Crown's last attempts to modernize and control the economy of its overseas territories. Together with the provincial silver peso that it replaced, it marks the closing of a turbulent monetary chapter that dated back to decades of circulation of mutilated and countermarked foreign currencies on the island.

Sources

• Pick, Albert.Standard Catalog of World Paper Money — Specialized Issues.
• General Archive of Puerto Rico
• Heritage Auctions —ha.com(opens in a new tab)
• Numista —numista.com(opens in a new tab)