Patacón (bond)
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The Patacón (officially called ''Letra de Tesorería para Cancelación de Obligaciones de la Provincia de Buenos Aires'') was a bond issued by the government of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, during 2001. The ''patacones'' were used to pay government bills, including state employees' salaries during a period when the economic crisis caused regular currency ( Argentine pesos) to be scarce. ''Patacones'' then circulated in the economy in much the same way as pesos. First issued during the peso/U.S. dollar convertibility regime, just like other complementary currency Patacones could be attractive due to a revenue scheduled for payment in 2003 in pesos (practically equivalent to dollars). When the convertibility was abandoned amid fears of hyperinflation, the attractiveness of this revenue practically disappeared. The basis for the acceptability of complementary currency shifted to their use to pay taxes. However, the value of Patacones became eroded as the series "B" was issued because as a way to put pressure on the Government to cancel a large debt, the company that printed them eliminated many safety features deemed too expensive, thus making them easier to counterfeit. Also, the revenue of series "B" was scheduled for payment just in 2006. The economic importance of Buenos Aires province ensured the acceptability of Patacones because there were plenty of large companies that found use for them as payment of provincial charges. Patacones were accepted outside the Buenos Aires province and eventually circulated (albeit informally) in border areas of neighboring countries. The name ''patacón'' is derived from a former Argentine national currency, and had been used in various places as a variant name for the Peso. It was colloquially or jokingly used as a synonym of "money". The popular comic hero
Patoruzú Patoruzú is a comic character created in 1928 by Dante Quinterno and is considered the most popular hero of Argentine comics. Patoruzú is a wealthy Tehuelche '' cacique'' with great estate properties in Patagonia, and possesses both super ...
had revived the use of this word -a wealthy, generous Indian ever ready to hand large heaps of bank notes to anyone in need, urging them to accept "these Patacones". Other
complementary currencies A complementary currency is a currency or medium of exchange that is not necessarily a national currency, but that is thought of as supplementing or complementing national currencies. Complementary currencies are usually not legal tender and thei ...
in Argentina at that time were the
Crédito The Crédito was a local currency started on 1 May 1995 in Bernal, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on a garage sale, which was the first of many neighbourhood barter markets (''mercados de trueque'') that emerged in Argentina during the ec ...
, the LECOP and the Argentino.


External links


The patacone plan - back to the future?


{{DEFAULTSORT:Patacon (bond) Currencies of Argentina Bonds (finance) 2001 in Argentina 2001 in economics