With the Maastricht auction now posted and the Hong Kong catalog for October in its final stages it is time to start looking toward 2025 and our first world paper money event of the year: the January 2025 NYINC Auction. We have been receiving coins and paper money for this sale, and as an official auctioneer of the New York International Numismatic Convention we look forward to another record-breaking event. When it comes to paper money the NYINC auction always has strong for items from Central and South America, and one note that crossed my desk this week fits the “highlight” category quite well. Read more about it below and look for more preview blogs for this auction in the coming months.
The note is a Peruvian 20 Soles, dated 5 May 1877 and issued by the Banco la Providencia. It was printed in the United States by American Bank Note Company and is identified as Pick-S232. It has been graded Very Fine 25 by PMG. One of just two notes of this Pick number in the PMG population report, it is an extraordinary rarity that is sure to attract spirited bidding from specialists of the country.
The Banco la Providencia (or La Providencia Sociedad Anónima General del Perú as it officially was known), was the first private bank established in Peru, in 1862. Its first bank note issue took place in July 1863. Within a few years the notes from the Banco la Providencia had become nearly worthless after counterfeits of the 5 Pesos were discovered, although the bank was able to restore confidence in its issue. The bank closed for a brief period, but soon reopened, and several issues of bank notes soon followed. The first notes printed by American Bank Note Company were ordered in 1867, and issuance would continue for the next decade, eventually including notes ranging from 1/2 Sol to 1000 Soles. Printing records of ABNC reveal that a 40,000 notes of the 20 Pesos denomination were printed (20,000 sheets, containing two 20 Pesos notes, a 50 Pesos note, and a 100 Peso Note).
The note featured in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ NYINC sale has a seal on the back that states it was amortized and payable by the government in 1877. This seal was applied to bank notes from commercial banks in circulation at the time that would be accepted by the Peruvian government. By 1880, however, all private banks in Peru had liquidated their currency issues, and most of these notes were redeemed and subsequently destroyed, accounting for their rarity today.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is now accepting consignments for the January 2025 NYINC Auction. To start the consignment process, or for other inquiries, please contact Dennis Hengeveld at dennis@stacksbowers.com.
