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20 Bolívares (= 4 Venezolanos)
| Issuer | Estado Guayana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
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| Value | 20 Bolívares |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue on white paper, with the issuer's name ESTADO GUAYANA in bold letterpress within a central cartouche at the top. The coat of arms of Guayana state appears as a vignette to the left, while denomination numerals '20' occupy the upper corners. A handwritten text body states the note's value in Bolívares, payable from ordinary revenues of the State Treasury, dated Ciudad Bolívar 1879, with manuscript signatures of the President and Treasurer below. The vertical side margins carry the legend VALE 4 VENEZOLANOS. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | VEINTE BOLIVARES 20 |
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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.