Catalog
20 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco de Maracaibo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO DE MARACAIBO COMPAÑIA ANONIMA CAPITAL 1,250,000 VEINTE BOLÍVARES que se pagarán al portador a su presentacion en las Oficinas del Banco |
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| Reverse lettering | 20 20 |
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| Comments |
The Banco de Maracaibo was a regional commercial bank based in Zulia State, not a national institution, yet it held note-issuing privileges during the period when Venezuela's banking sector remained fragmented and decentralized. By 1917 that era was already ending — Caracas was steadily consolidating monetary authority, and privately issued provincial banknotes were being phased out across the country.
The American Bank Note Company contract likely reflects the bank's commercial ambitions and access to export revenues from the Maracaibo Basin's cattle and coffee trade, years before petroleum transformed the region's economy entirely.