Catalog
100 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco de Caracas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company |
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| Obverse description | Green-tinted note with ornate guilloche work throughout. The heading reads BANCO DE CARACAS / COMPAÑIA ANONIMA across the upper centre, with CAPITAL B1.300.000 and VALE POR / CIEN BOLIVAR inscribed below. Two large dark oval vignettes bearing the denomination '100 B' flank the centre, while a central roundel at the bottom reads CIEN; signature lines for 'Por la Direccion' and 'El Secretario Contador' appear above a pair of heraldic supporters, with the place and date line 'Caracas ... de 18' at the upper left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO DE CARACAS COMPAÑIA ANONIMA CAPITAL B1.300.000 VALE POR CIEN BOLIVAR 100 B CIEN Caracas Por la Direccion El Secretario Contador |
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| Comments |
The Banco de Caracas was a private commercial bank operating under Venezuelan government concession, and its notes circulated alongside those of other authorized banks during the fragmented monetary period before the Banco Central de Venezuela existed. The American Bank Note Company produced this 100 Bolívares note, as it did for much of Latin America's banking establishment during the late nineteenth century — ABNC held near-exclusive access to the security engraving infrastructure these institutions required.
Venezuela's 1879 monetary environment was unstable. The bolívar had been established as the national currency unit only in 1879 under the Codes of Commerce reform, making this among the earliest notes denominated in bolívares rather than pesos or reales.