Chile is a long, narrow country stretching along South America's western edge, with more than 6,000km of Pacific Ocean coastline. Santiago, its capital, sits in a valley surrounded by the Andes and Chilean Coast Range mountains. The city's palm-lined Plaza de Armas contains the neoclassical cathedral and the National History Museum. The massive Parque Metropolitano offers swimming pools, a botanical garden, and zoo.

The escudo was the currency of Chile between 1960 and 1975, divided into 100 centesimos. It replaced the old peso at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 pesos and was itself replaced by a new peso, at a rate of 1 peso = 1000 escudos.

Today we are looking at ½ escudo banknote issued from 1962 to 1975. The obverse has the portrait of General Bernardo O'Higgins; while the reverse depicts the arrival of Diego de Almagro to Chile. Diego de Almagro, also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador and is credited as the European discoverer of Chile.

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