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20 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco Comercial de Maracaibo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1933-1934 |
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| Reference(s) | P#182 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central vignette of an oil field scene with multiple derricks and industrial structures, rendered in green intaglio. The denomination numeral '20' appears in large format at left and right, flanking the central vignette, with the bank title 'BANCO COMERCIAL DE MARACAIBO' arched across the top. Below the vignette, the legend 'VEINTE BOLIVARES' is inscribed in bold letterpress, with two signature lines for Director and Gerente, and the bank's capital stated along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO COMERCIAL DE MARACAIBO COMPAÑIA ANONIMA 20 VEINTE BOLIVARES MARACIBO. CAPITAL: Bs. 3,000,000 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY |
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| Comments |
The Banco Comercial de Maracaibo was one of a handful of regional Venezuelan banks that retained note-issuing privileges well into the twentieth century, long after most countries had consolidated such rights under a central authority. Venezuela's Banco Central wasn't established until 1940, which meant private regional banks continued producing their own circulating notes through the 1930s — this issue falls squarely in that final window.
ABNC produced the plates in New York, as they did for much of Latin America during this period. Maracaibo's commercial importance at the time derived almost entirely from the Lake Maracaibo oil boom of the 1920s, which had transformed the region from a modest trading port into one of the wealthiest urban centers in South America by the early 1930s.
The series was superseded when the Banco Central absorbed regional issuance rights shortly after its founding.