Argentina Banknotes 5 Pesos Convertibles banknote 1998 General Jose de San Martin
Central Bank of Argentina - Banco Central de la República Argentina
The $5 note design reviews the life of General José de San Martín (1778–1850).
The center front features his portrait and the background, a replica of General San Martín's will (January 23, 1844). This document highlights his filial and family feelings as well as true patriotism, evident in his wish for his heart to remain in Buenos Aires. His yearning came true, since his remains lie at the Mausoleum built to that end inside the Cathedral of Buenos Aires. The front of the note also reproduces "The Maipú Embrace," a painting by Chilean painter Pedro Subercaseaux (1881–1956) — whose works mostly relate to historical themes — evoking San Martín and O'Higgins' meeting after the Battle of Maipú.
The main motifs are intaglio printed and the background is offset printed.
The back of the note features a summary of the hero’s biography in microprinting and the Order of the Liberator's medal, designed by engineer and sculptor Ángel Ibarra García (1892–1972) and approved by the Order's Council on June 14, 1945.
It also features the Andes Army Monument, which is located at Cerro de la Gloria, inside the General San Martín Park, in the city of Mendoza. On top of the monument there is a group of grenadiers throwing themselves into battle. Liberty, with broken chains around her hands, advances over the group. Further down, a condor about to fly off symbolizes the inspiration behind the heroic deed. The Argentine Coat of Arms appears under the fraying group; in the eastern wall is the Peruvian Coat of Arms, and in the western wall, the Chilean one. On the front, detached from the whole and over a stone base, General San Martín's equestrian statue stands out. On the background and to both sides, two reliefs represent the Mounted Grenadiers Corps. On the eastern, southern, and western sides, three carved friezes attached to the base evoke the most remarkable facts about the creation of the army.
The monument is the work of Uruguayan sculptor Juan Manuel Ferrari (1874–1916). Juan Carlos Oliva Navarro (1888–1951) and Víctor Garino (1878–1958), among others, helped build it. The monument is unveiled on February 12, 1914, the date of the 97th anniversary of the Battle of Chacabuco.
Argentina banknotes - Argentina paper money
1991-1997 "Pesos Convertibles de Curso Legal" Second Issue
Peso convertible, from 1992 to now.
The current peso replaced the austral at a rate of 1 peso = 10,000 australes (ten trillion pesos m$n). It was also referred to as peso convertible since the international exchange rate was fixed by the Central Bank at 1 peso to 1 U.S. dollar and for every peso convertible circulating, there was a U.S. dollar in the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves. After the various changes of currency and dropping of zeroes, one peso convertible was equivalent to 10,000,000,000,000 pesos moneda nacional. However, after the financial crisis of 2001, the fixed exchange rate system was abandoned.
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José de San Martín:
He begins his military career in Spain at the age of eleven. After two decades of fighting back the Napoleonic invasions in Africa, Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula, he is commissioned lieutenant colonel for his remarkable performance.
Arrived in London in 1811, he takes part of the meetings of the Lautaro Lodge, which brings Latin Americans together who are willing to fight for independence. Back in Buenos Aires, the Triumvirate entrusts him with the organization of the Mounted Grenadiers Regiment, whose baptism of fire takes place in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe (1813). Due to his military skills, he is appointed General-in-Chief of the Northern Army, which he soon restructures; together with Güemes, he agrees to defend the northern frontier in what became known as the "gaucho war."
He devises a plan to free Chile and Peru. As Cuyo’s Governor, he raises an army of over 5,000 men with which he heroically crosses the Andes and fights the Battle of Chacabuco (1817). When he is elected Supreme Director of Chile, he resigns to the position on the grounds that it should have belonged to O'Higgins. After the victory at Maipú, he hurries up his expedition to Peru (1820).He manages to besiege Viceroy de la Serna by land and sea, which allows him to make a triumphal entry into Lima. Once the independence has been proclaimed by the people’s free will, San Martín drafts the first national constitution and creates the executive and judicial branches of government.
His interview with General Bolívar takes him away from Peruvian soil, though he first makes the following statement: "My pledge to the peoples on behalf of whom I have made war has been kept — achieving their independence and leaving the election of their authorities to their own will" (1822). He comes back to Argentina. In order to get away from domestic conflicts, he decides to settle in Europe (1824), since his sword would not shed the blood of his fellow countrymen.
For his amplitude of sights, his renouncement and his warlike genius, San Martín is for the posterity the father of the land and the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Perú.