10 Centavos de Boliviano overprinted on P# 171

Bolivia's 1987 monetary reform replaced the peso boliviano with a new boliviano at a rate of 1,000,000 to 1 — the direct consequence of hyperinflation that had peaked at over 20,000% annually in 1985, among the worst episodes recorded in Latin American history. Rather than print an entirely new low-denomination series immediately, the Banco Central overprinted existing peso boliviano stock, converting face values by the same factor. A note once worth 100,000 pesos became 10 centavos overnight.

The host note is Pick 171, already a Thomas De La Rue printing. The overprint reused the same printer's infrastructure, which kept the operation administratively clean but created a note whose stated value bore no visible relationship to the numerals beneath it.