Catalog
20 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco de Venezuela |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO DE VENEZUELA SOCIEDAD ANÓNIMA CAPITAL B/B.000,000 CARÁCAS No. VALOR VEINTE BOLÍVARES que se pagarán al portador en Carácas á la presentación. Por El Banco de Venezuela J.L. SECRETARIO VEINTE BOLÍVARES |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in brown tones and composed entirely of elaborate lathe-work guilloche patterns forming a dense geometric background. At the centre, the Venezuelan national coat of arms is set within a circular medallion bearing the national motto, flanked symmetrically on each side by large ornate numeral '20' counters enclosed in intricate scroll-work cartouches. The bank name arcs above and below the central medallion in bold lettering. |
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| Comments |
Banco de Venezuela was chartered in 1890 — the same year this note was issued — making this among the earliest paper the institution ever put into circulation. The American Bank Note Company handled the production in New York, which was standard practice for Venezuelan private banks at the time; domestic printing infrastructure simply did not exist at a scale capable of meeting the security demands of banknote production.
Pick 261 is genuinely scarce. The bank's early issues suffered heavy attrition through Venezuela's turbulent 1890s, a decade marked by chronic political instability and at least one significant monetary disruption under President Andueza Palacio's failed constitutionalist uprising of 1892, which badly strained the banking system.