BLAME IT ON TV
Posted June, 2000
|
W hat would we Argentines say today if the figures of Carlos Saul Menem, Raul Alfonsin, or Domingo Cavallo might appear on our
convertible pesos? I don't even want to imagine the printed pages
and the television hours that would be dedicated to the plemic that
would be unleased and that the press would occupy itself insistently
with on this issue.
Nevertheless, it wouldn't be the first time that something like
this happened in our country. Sincerely, I do not know the
repercussions that these circumstances could have, but I am prepared
to inform our readers that - previous to the adoption of the
allegory "Progress" - many of our banknotes reproduced the busts of
personages who still had not concluded their material cycle (life).
Stated in other words, they were still "alive and kicking" at the
time of their appearance on the banknotes.
Parts of the "Progress" allegory began to be printed in 1899. In
prior years, pesos appeared with images of public people whom our
ancestors would manipulate, some carefully and others as in a
dispute, all depending on the political passion of each one.
I don't pretend to inventory all cases here; lets just take a few
as examples. Going from the fewest to the oldest, lets say that due
to Law No. 2741 of October 7, 1890, the Conversion Office was
created. This was a national organization which was in charge of
printing banknotes and the replacement of previous series. On August
21 of that year, Law No. 2707 had authorized the printing of
fractional banknotes; that is to say, notes with the value of cents,
due to the lack of coins for change. This "lesser printing" done
through the Bank of the Argentine Nation included 20 cent paper
money of the bust of general Barolome Mitre; issued 1.11.1891, this
general lived until 1906.
Before the existence of the Conversion office, a system of
"Guaranteed National Banks" functioned under which, in compliance
with Law No. 2216 dated November 3, 1887, they were authorized to
print banknotes. The same ones were identical for all the banks
participating in the system, and the notes consisted of values from
1 to 1000 pesos. on the reverse of the 10-peso banknotes was the
image of General Julio A. Roca, the immediate past President of the
Republic; and the 50-peso banknote carried the profile bust of Dr.
Juarez Celman, President of tthe Nation at that time. But the
Miister of Finance was "not outside" of this group. Dr. Wesceslao
Pacheco was his name, and he appeared on the 20-peso note. Since at
that time our Currency Officice was not in any condition to print
banknotes, it contracted their printing with the London firm of
Bradbury, Wilkinson and Co.
At the same time the National Bank, previous printer of the
"guaranteed banks", contracted in 1884 with the American Bank Note
Co. of New York for the manufacture of 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos;
the 10-centavo note carried the figure of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
(inhabitant of this vale of tears until 1888); the 20-centavo
banknote reproduced the figure of Bartolome Mitre, to whom we have
already referred. For his part, the image of Nicolas Avellaneda, who
would live until 1885, appeared on the 5 centavo certificates. The
same personages, even when in different designs, illustrate
identical values of the series that might have been entrusted in
1883 to the local printing house R. Lange.
The Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires was not any exception.
It printed on the date of the creation of the National Bank (1872),
and had printed in 1869, 5000-peso circulating banknotes with the
portrait of Dr. Dalmacio Velez Sarsfield, who was present in body
and spirit until 1875.
As readers can appreciate, zeal for portrayal of our early
political figures is not the heritage of our contemporaries. And let
us not forget that in those days there was no television, and it was
necessary to look for other forms of popularizing one's face.
Source: Special for A Los Cuatro Vientos (To the Four
Winds)
Courtesy: Carlos Alberto
Graziadio
|
|
