Catalog
2 Lempiras
| Issuer | Banco de Honduras |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Lempira (1931-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE HONDURAS EL BANCO DE HONDURAS PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR EN MONEDA EFECTIVA 2 SÉRIE A TEGUCIGALPA, 11 DE FEBRERO DE 1932. DOS LEMPIRAS (Translation: Republic of Honduras The Bank of Honduras Pay to Bearer in currency Series A Tegucigalpa, February 11th., 1932. Two Lempiras) |
| Reverse description | Printed in green. A central vignette presents a detailed engraving of the Banco de Honduras building, flanked on each side by large circular guilloche rosettes incorporating the numeral "2". The bank name appears in a decorative cartouche at the top and the denomination in bold lettering within an ornamental panel at the base; the printer's imprint reads "Waterlow & Sons Limited, Londres, Inglaterra" along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Banco de Honduras — not to be confused with the later Banco Central de Honduras, which absorbed its functions in 1950 — issued this note during a period of acute fiscal strain. The early 1930s hit Central American economies hard: falling banana and coffee revenues, combined with the regional fallout of the global depression, forced severe contraction in money supply. A 2-lempira denomination was practical currency for daily commerce, not a reserve instrument.
Waterlow & Sons had long-standing relationships with Latin American issuing banks and printed several Honduran series concurrently. The cotton substrate was standard for Waterlow at this period, chosen for durability in tropical climates where humidity destroyed rag-free paper rapidly.