10 Bolívares

Banco Caracas was one of three private Venezuelan banks of issue still operating in the 1920s, a survivor of the era when commercial banks rather than a central bank controlled the money supply. Venezuela would not establish the Banco Central until 1940, so notes like this one circulated alongside issues from Banco de Venezuela and Banco de Maracaibo in a fragmented, competitive system that successive governments repeatedly tried and failed to consolidate.

The ABNC contract for Banco Caracas is well-documented. Serial numbers and signatures were typically applied after delivery from New York, with hand-signing by bank officers a requirement through much of the series run.