Watch List notes:

URUGUAY. Banco de Credito & Mall of the Union. 5 Patacones, ND (1962) . P-Unlisted. Choice Very Fine.
Business was supposed to be booming at the newly constructed Mall of the Union, but was dragging during repaving of Avenida 8 de Octubre, a major artery of Montevideo. The alarmed merchants desperately sought a means to turn sales around. Brainstorming together with the new Banco de Credito, successor to the Banco Italiano, and the board of directors of the Mall of the Union shopping center, they created a promotional campaign featuring the Patacon, the obsolete historical coinage of Uruguay.

In May of 1962, at a cost of just $13,000, the association ordered 1,700,000 bearer notes from Barreiro & Ramos Printers in five denominations, differing only in color and face value, expressed in Patacones: 1 in red, 5 in orange, 10 in brown, 50 in violet, and 100 in blue. The notes were then issued by the Banco de Credito to the public, who could acquire them paying only 1% of their face value, e.g., 100 Patacones for $1. The face of each note bears a vignette at right of the Church of San Agustin, established 1849; the back is taken up by a large vignette of the Villa of the Union, with the legend (in translation) "Member of the Banco de Credito Company Union, at 3927 Avenue 8 de Octubre," showing the address of the note issuer, the Banco de Credito. Spaces below are left for the bearer to provide name and address at redemption.

Estimate: $75.00- $150.00