Catalog
10 Bolivianos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black with a red-orange guilloche underprint bearing the large numeral "10" and the word "DIEZ" across the centre. A central vignette in intaglio style presents a rural Bolivian scene with figures, cattle, and a thatched dwelling set against a mountainous background. Two seated allegorical female figures flank the central vignette — one to the left and one to the right — each rendered in fine engraving, with the denomination numeral "10" appearing in the upper and lower corners. The date "Sucre, Enero 1° de 1883" appears in the upper right area, with signature lines at the bottom for the Contador and the Delegado del Gobierno. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL DE BOLIVIA American Bank Note Co. New York 10 |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Bolivia was established in 1871 with a concession from the Bolivian government and for a period held a dominant — though never exclusive — position in the country's note-issuing market. By the early 1880s, several competing regional banks had their own ABNC-printed issues in circulation, creating a fragmented currency environment that would persist until the Banco de la Nación Boliviana consolidated issuance in the early twentieth century.
American Bank Note Company held the printing contract throughout this series. The 1883 date places this note just two years after Bolivia's defeat in the War of the Pacific, which stripped the country of its coastal territory and severely disrupted trade revenues — circumstances that put real pressure on private bank note circulation.