Catalog
1 Boliviano
| Issuer | Banco de la Nación Boliviana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central oval intaglio vignette of a young woman in three-quarter portrait wearing a tiara and pearl necklace, set within an ornate guilloche border. The bank title EL BANCO DE NACION BOLIVIANA Y LONDRES arcs across the upper field in bold letterpress, with BOLIVIA and LONDRES flanking the central vignette; the denomination UN BOLIVIANO appears in a panel below the portrait. Serial numbers are printed in duplicate at left and right, with the place and date of issue LA PAZ, 1 DE FEBRERO DE 1909 inscribed below the signature lines, which bear the titles DELEGADO DEL GOBIERNO and DIRECTOR. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#96a - Issued note P#96s - Specimen |
| Comments |
The Banco de la Nación Boliviana was established by law in 1909 specifically to consolidate the chaotic plurality of private banks — several of which had been issuing their own competing notes with questionable reserve backing. This note is among the earliest emissions from that new state-aligned institution, printed by Waterlow & Sons in London before Bolivia had any domestic printing capacity worth the name.
Waterlow held printing contracts across much of South America during this period, and the quality of the intaglio work on Bolivian issues from this run is noticeably higher than on the private bank notes it replaced.