Catalog
20 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco Comercial, Caracas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1880 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark green and black on a cream paper ground. At upper centre, the bank title reads BANCO COMERCIAL / SOCIEDAD ANÓNIMA with CAPITAL B/3,200,000 below. To the left, an intaglio vignette portrays a classical allegorical female figure reclining with a globe, enclosed in an oval frame. The denomination VALE POR VEINTE BOLÍVARES is set in bold letterpress across the centre, with a manuscript date line reading Caracas, de 188_ and a payment clause in script below; the numeral 20 appears in each corner within guilloche panels, and VEINTE is printed vertically on both lateral borders. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO COMERCIAL SOCIEDAD ANÓNIMA CAPITAL B/3,200,000 VALE POR VEINTE BOLIVARES Caracas, de 188 que se pagarán al portador en Caracas á la presentación Por el Banco Comercial El Gerente Compañía americana de billetes de banco (ландELA) VEINTE 20 |
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| Comments |
The Banco Comercial was one of several private Venezuelan banks authorized to issue notes under the banking legislation of the 1870s, a period when no central bank existed and commercial institutions filled the void. This note predates the prolonged monetary turbulence that would eventually push Venezuela toward centralized currency control in the early twentieth century.
The American Bank Note Company printed for dozens of Latin American issuers during this period, and their Venezuelan commissions are well documented. The ABNC's engraved intaglio work on Venezuelan private bank issues is generally of high quality, though the Banco Comercial had a relatively short operational life — the bank did not survive into the next century, which kept total note production and survival numbers low.