Catalog
20 000 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco Central de Venezuela |
|---|---|
| Year | 2019 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 156 × 69 mm |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Simón Bolívar in the lower centre, rendered in fine line engraving against a yellow-green guilloche underprint with floral motifs. The numeral 20000 appears in large bold letterpress at upper left, below the country title, with the date 22 de enero de 2019 and payability clause printed beneath the denomination in words. A vertical serial number runs along the right margin, with two facsimile signatures of the Presidente BCV and Primer Vicepresidente BCV above a row of security thread windows at centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of the National Pantheon in Caracas, the mausoleum housing the remains of Simón Bolívar, rendered in intaglio line engraving. The Venezuelan coat of arms appears to one side, set against a guilloche underprint in complementary green tones. Repeated numeral panels and the bank title frame the composition. |
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| Comments |
Venezuela's 2019 redenomination — which lopped five zeros off the bolívar fuerte to create the bolívar soberano — barely kept pace with inflation before it too became worthless. This 20,000-bolívar soberano note was issued into an economy where the IMF estimated annual inflation exceeded one million percent at its peak. The denomination itself, substantial on paper, was eroded to near-nothing within months of printing.
Security features on this series are relatively modest given the circumstances — a reflection of procurement difficulties rather than deliberate policy, as international suppliers had become reluctant to extend credit to the BCV.