46 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
change basis, the gold peso being worth one 
hundred centavos, or in our money 96.5 cents. 
The gold peso is designated by the sign $C/L, 
the symbol C/L meaning curso legal, or legal 
tender. This is practically an imaginary 
coin, and the money one sees is paper currency, 
the paper peso being worth 44 per cent, of its 
face value, or 42.46 cents in United States 
gold. This is represented in the following 
manner $M/N, meaning moneda nacional or 
national money. This paper currency fluctu 
ates slightly each day, being governed by the 
market conditions. The abbreviations O/S, 
C/L, and M/N are placed before the dollar 
or peso mark, as for example O/S $500 or 
may follow it, as, for instance, $500 M/N. 
The Argentine has long been noted for its 
unfavorable fees charged travellers, each 
province having a separate tariff, varying ac 
cording to the commodity one may be selling. 
They are subject to such changes on short 
notice that it is useless to give them here, be 
sides the subject has been dealt with else 
where in this book. Before doing business it