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20 Bolívares (= 4 Venezolanos)
| Issuer | Estado Guayana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ESTADO GUAYANA 20 VALE 4 VENEZOLANOS Vale por VEINTE BOLIVARES EL PRESIDENTE EL TESORERO Cd. Bolivar, Dico. 1879 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in blue, with a dense guilloche wavy-line underprint covering the central field. The denomination numeral '20' appears in ornate panels at the left and right, flanking a central oval cartouche bearing the inscription VEINTE BOLIVARES. A geometric basket-weave guilloche pattern fills the background throughout, bordered by a fine engine-turned frame. |
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| Comments |
Estado Guayana was one of several Venezuelan federal states briefly authorized to issue their own currency under the 1874 monetary law, which permitted regional note issues denominated in both the new bolívar standard and the older venezolano unit still in common use. The dual denomination on this note — 20 bolívares equaling 4 venezolanos — reflects the 5:1 conversion ratio established at the time, a concession to a public that had not yet abandoned the older unit in daily reckoning.
Regional state issues from Venezuela in this period are among the most elusive nineteenth-century Latin American paper, with survival rates devastated by tropical climate and the near-total collapse of several issuing institutions before redemption could be organized.