Chile P-127 10 Centesimos ND(1960-63) Very Fine Plus

A vivid piece of monetary improvisation — Chile's transition from the Peso to the Escudo in 1960 was so abrupt that the Central Bank simply stamped existing 100 Peso notes with a red overprint declaring them worth 10 Centésimos de Escudo. You will receive one note from this series; the exact signature variety (P-127a) will vary.

Obverse

• Color: red engraving on multicolor underprint
• Portrait of Arturo Prat at right
• Denomination "DIEZ CONDORES" and "CIEN PESOS" in lettering; "100" in numerals
• Text: CONVERTIBLES EN ORO CONFORME A LA LEY (Convertible in gold, according to the Law)
• Printer imprint: CASA DE MONEDA DE CHILE
• Signatures: Varieties — you may receive any variety:
  • ND(1960–61): Eduardo Figueroa Geisse & Luis Mackenna Shiell — Pres. & Gen. Manager
  • ND(1962): Luis Mackenna Shiell & Francisco Ibáñez Barceló — Pres. & Gen. Manager
  • ND(1963): Sergio Molina Silva & Francisco Ibáñez Barceló — Pres. & Gen. Manager

Back

• Color: red overprint on brown underprint
• Seal of the Central Bank of Chile at lower center; issuer name at top
• "100" in all four corners; "CIEN" rotated 90° on sides near edge
• Red overprint declaring new denomination: 10 CENTESIMOS DE ESCUDO
• Original denomination "CIEN PESOS" retained in underlying print

Other Characteristics

• Varieties: you may receive any variety:
  • ND(1960–61) — EFG & LMS — this series
  • ND(1962) — LMS & FIB
  • ND(1963) — SMS & FIB
• Catalog numbers: Pick P-127a; Numista N#204425
• Watermark: Portrait of Diego Portales
• Composition: Paper (overprinted on P-122)
• Size: 145 × 70 mm
• Issuing entity: Central Bank of Chile (Banco Central de Chile)
• Printer: Casa de Moneda de Chile
• Demonetized: Yes (Escudo replaced by Peso in 1975)
• Currency: Chilean Escudo (1960–1975)

The Man on the Note

Arturo Prat Chacón (1848–1879) is Chile's most celebrated naval hero. A lawyer and naval officer, he commanded the wooden corvette Esmeralda during the Battle of Iquique on 21 May 1879 — the opening engagement of the War of the Pacific. Hopelessly outgunned by the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar, Prat refused to surrender. When the enemy ship rammed his vessel, he leapt aboard the Huáscar alone, sword in hand, and was shot dead within seconds. His crew followed. The Esmeralda sank. Chile lost the battle — but Prat's death galvanized the nation. Chile went on to win the war decisively. 21 May is now a national holiday: Día de las Glorias Navales.

The Overnight Currency

On 1 January 1960, Chile replaced the Peso with the Escudo at a rate of 1 Escudo = 1,000 Pesos — an attempt to tame chronic inflation that had been eroding purchasing power for decades. The transition was so rapid that the Central Bank had no time to print sufficient new notes. The solution: stamp the old ones. Existing 100 Peso notes (P-122) were overprinted in red with their new Escudo value — 10 Centésimos — and returned to circulation. It is a rare and candid admission that monetary reform sometimes outruns the printing press. The Escudo itself lasted only until 1975, when a new Peso replaced it at 1,000 Escudos to 1 Peso — inflation had done it again.

About Chile

• Origin of name: Likely from the Quechua word chili, meaning "where the land ends" or possibly from the Mapuche word for "cold" or "deep" — the exact etymology remains debated
  • Origin of name of Santiago: Named Santiago de Nueva Extremadura by conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in 1541, in honor of Saint James (Santiago), patron saint of Spain
• Capital: Santiago — city pop. ~6.3 million; metro pop. ~8 million
• Population: ~19.6 million (UN 2024) — roughly the size of New York State and Pennsylvania combined
• Area: 756,102 km² (291,933 mi²) — slightly larger than Texas; the world's longest country north-to-south at ~4,300 km
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$29,000 (IMF 2024) — among the highest in Latin America
• Main exports: copper (world's largest producer), lithium, fruit, wine, salmon, cellulose
• Borders: Peru (north), Bolivia (northeast), Argentina (east); Pacific Ocean to the west; Drake Passage to the south
• Official/spoken languages: Spanish (official); Mapudungun and other indigenous languages spoken by minorities
• Ethnicities: Mestizo and white (~95%), Mapuche (~9%), other indigenous groups
• Memberships: United Nations (founding member, 1945); Organization of American States (founding member, 1948); Pacific Alliance (founding member, 2011); APEC; WTO; OECD (2010)
• Sovereignty: Spanish colonial rule (1540–1818); Independence declared 18 September 1810; formally recognized 1818; Republic established 1818–date

Chile Unfiltered

• Chile is the world's longest country — stretching 4,300 km from the Atacama Desert in the north to Patagonia and Cape Horn in the south, yet averaging only 177 km wide.
• The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar desert on Earth — some weather stations there have never recorded rainfall. It also sits atop the world's largest lithium reserves.
• Chile controls Easter Island (Rapa Nui) — home to the famous moai statues, located 3,700 km off the coast in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
• Chile has been struck by the two most powerful earthquakes ever recorded — the 1960 Valdivia earthquake (magnitude 9.5, the strongest in history) and the 2010 Maule earthquake (magnitude 8.8).
• Chile produces some of the world's finest wines — its unique geography, sandwiched between the Andes and the Pacific, creates ideal microclimates for Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, and Sauvignon Blanc.
• The 2010 Copiapó mining accident trapped 33 miners 700 meters underground for 69 days — all were rescued alive in a globally televised operation.
• Chile was the first country in Latin America to elect a socialist president by popular vote — Salvador Allende in 1970, who was overthrown in a US-backed coup on 11 September 1973.

Own this note and hold a small masterpiece of monetary improvisation — the stamp that launched a currency, the hero who died sword in hand, and the inflation that eventually swallowed them both. A fascinating relic from one of South America's most dramatic economic transitions.