10 ARA #11

Front

Santiago Derqui (1809–1867), the sixth President of Argentina who served from 1860 to 1861 during the critical period of national unification. A lawyer and politician from Córdoba, Derqui played a significant role in Argentine constitutional history, presiding over the country during the transition from the Argentine Confederation to the unified Argentine Republic. His presidency was marked by the conflict between Buenos Aires and the Confederation, culminating in the Battle of Pavón. The note features his name inscribed vertically at right.

Back

Allegorical female figure representing Progress or Liberty, seated and holding aloft a torch or sun symbol, surrounded by laurel branches and the Argentine coat of arms featuring the Sun of May. This classical allegorical imagery reflects 19th-century republican iconography common to Argentine state symbolism. The inscription 'CASA DE MONEDA' confirms domestic printing.

History

The Austral series was introduced on June 15, 1985, replacing the peso argentino at a rate of 1 austral = 1,000 pesos argentinos, as part of the Austral Plan economic reforms under President Raúl Alfonsín to combat hyperinflation. The currency initially stabilized prices but ultimately succumbed to renewed hyperinflation by 1989–1991. The austral was replaced by the peso convertible on January 1, 1992, at a rate of 10,000 australes = 1 peso. This 10 australes note is among the lower denominations of the series, which eventually required notes up to 500,000 australes.