Description and research notes
Issued 1907 Banco de la República 100 Pesos note, cataloged as Pick 159 and printed by Waterlow & Sons, London. This is the original, non-overprinted base type from which the later 1912 emergency state issues were created. In its pure issued form, without the later “Emisión del Estado” overprint or the additional Treasury fiscal validation seen on rarer revalidated examples, the note preserves the full Waterlow design as it was intended before Paraguay’s monetary emergency transformed surviving stocks into provisional state currency.
The note is historically important because it represents the starting point of the entire 1907 to 1912 Paraguayan revalidation story. The later overprinted issues cannot be fully understood without this base note. The 1912 state-overprint issue, cataloged as Pick 134, was created directly on this Pick 159 design, while the still rarer dual-side state and treasury revalidation specimen shows an additional layer of fiscal control applied to the same original type. This issued note therefore serves as the clean benchmark for the whole family: the unaltered Banco de la República obligation before emergency state intervention.
At the center of its importance is the monetary clause printed on the face: “Moneda Nacional ó Diez Pesos Oro Sellado.” This wording gave the 100 Pesos paper denomination a formal relationship to ten sealed gold pesos. In 1907, that phrase belonged to the legal and monetary structure of the original Banco de la República issue. By 1912, during Paraguay’s political and fiscal crisis, the same phrase became central to the meaning of the emergency overprints. The government’s later overprinted notes did not invent the gold-value language; they reactivated and reaffirmed language already present on this base issue.
That makes the non-overprinted Pick 159 especially valuable as a documentary reference. On the later single-face overprint, the state marked the front of this same design with “Emisión del Estado,” converting the earlier banknote into a state-recognized emergency obligation. On the dual-side treasury-revalidated variety, the reverse validation specifically repeated the “Diez Pesos Oro Sellado” formula through the Departamento de Hacienda and Junta Fiscalizadora. This issued note shows the origin of that entire structure, before any emergency stamp, decree reference, or treasury counterstamp altered its surface.
The design is a strong example of Waterlow & Sons security engraving for South America in the early twentieth century. The face combines a yellow-green tint field with dense black intaglio work, broad ornamental side panels, large corner denomination tablets, and a central architectural vignette of the Banco de la República building. The engraved promise-to-pay wording, red serial number, Series A panel, and formal signature arrangement give the note a deeply institutional character. The reverse, built around elaborate guilloché rosettes, large denomination panels, and the national emblem, displays the same technical precision and decorative density that made Waterlow issues widely respected across Latin America.
The watermark adds another important layer of authentication and production quality. PMG identifies the note with “Wmk: 100,” confirming the denomination watermark used in the paper. This feature is especially useful when studying the relationship between the issued Pick 159 note and the later overprinted forms, because it anchors the physical paper stock beneath all subsequent fiscal markings. In an issue family where later overprints can dominate attention, the watermark, base engraving, serial format, and imprint are essential evidence of the original production standard.
Most issued examples of this type entered circulation and were not preserved with the care normally associated with archival specimens. High-denomination notes were working instruments of commerce and finance, not collector souvenirs. As a result, surviving Pick 159 notes are often encountered with wear, handling, or reduced paper freshness. This example, certified PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated, is exceptional because it preserves the original issued design in an unusually clean and undisturbed state, with strong paper quality, bright color, and a sharp impression.
As the unoverprinted foundation of the 1912 emergency overprint series, this note has importance beyond its catalog number. It documents the original Banco de la República issue, the Waterlow & Sons design program, the gold-referenced value language, and the exact paper-money instrument that Paraguay later brought into its emergency state emission system. The later overprints tell the story of crisis and government revalidation; this note tells the story of the original monetary promise before that crisis intervened.
Certified PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated, this issued Pick 159 stands as a museum-grade reference example for early Paraguayan paper money. It is the clean base against which the 1912 single-side state overprint and the dual-side state and treasury revalidation can be compared. For a collector or researcher studying Paraguay’s transition from the 1907 Banco de la República issue to the emergency monetary actions of 1912, this note is not simply an attractive issued example. It is the foundation piece.