Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First boliviano (1864-1963) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown intaglio print divided into three vignettes: at left, a llama with a figure in traditional dress; at centre, the Bolivian coat of arms with Andean condor and laurel branches; at right, a figure in regional attire holding a staff. Ornate lathe-work guilloche borders frame the composition, with the bank name split across top and bottom margins. |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL DE BOLIVIA UNO American Bank Note Co. New York |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Bolivia was established in 1871 under a government concession, operating as a private commercial bank with note-issuing privileges rather than a true central bank. Its early note series were contracted to the American Bank Note Company, the dominant supplier to Latin American issuers throughout the 1870s — a period when few South American states had access to domestic security printing of comparable quality.
Bolivia's monetary system in 1877 still operated in the shadow of Spanish colonial denominations. The boliviano had been introduced as the national unit only in 1864, replacing the peso, and public trust in paper currency remained fragile in a country where silver coin — minted at Potosí — was the default medium of exchange for most transactions.