Abstract (EN)

In Argentina, since the country's independence, including after its federal structure had stabilized and a centralized monetary regime had been instituted, many provincias had issued tax currencies in the form of notes of small denominations. This article aims to get out of oblivion of this outsized monetary phenomenon which, despite its recurrence to the present day, its historical importance, its economic impact, and its possible lessons for the euro zone, has been only very rarely the subject of research in both history and economics. To this end, after having analyzed the general characteristics of these tax currencies and the problems posed by the disinterest of the social sciences in their regard, we describe the four waves of their emission, which testify to the importance and the tendency to reemergence of the phenomenon, until today. Finally we endeavor to analyze the diversity of the phenomenon, to grasp the variety of types of currencies which are created, and to examine the links which may exist between the forms of coinage chosen and the successes or failures of the devices, seized through their ability or inability to maintain themselves as complementary currencies to the legal tender currency.