Catalog
40 Bolívares (= 8 Venezolanos)
| Issuer | Estado Guayana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | A typographically composed single-sided issue printed in dark ink on plain paper, with the denomination numeral '40' in each upper corner and the issuer's title 'ESTADO GUAYANA' spanning the top within an ornate letterpress border. A state coat of arms vignette is positioned at the lower left, flanking the central manuscript obligation text declaring the value as 'CUARENTA BOLIVARES' with a clause referencing the ordinary revenues of the Estado treasury and a handwritten date of 1879. Signature lines for 'EL PRESIDENTE' and 'EL TESORERO' with manuscript signatures appear at the base, while the vertical side margins carry the equivalent value legend 'VALE 8 VENEZOLANOS'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ESTADO GUAYANA 40 Nº Serie Vale por CUARENTA BOLIVARES amortizan el diez por ciento de los Ingresos ordinarios del Tesoro del Estado Cd Bolivar Diche Yre 1879 EL PRESIDENTE EL TESORERO VALE 8 VENEZOLANOS |
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| Comments |
The Estado Guayana issue of 1879 belongs to the turbulent period of Venezuelan federalism, when individual states retained the authority to emit their own paper currency — a privilege that produced a patchwork of regional notes with wildly inconsistent backing and redemption reliability. Guayana, isolated in the southeast and economically marginal relative to Caracas or Valencia, had limited capacity to guarantee convertibility.
The dual denomination — 40 Bolívares expressed also as 8 Venezolanos — reflects the transitional monetary arithmetic of the period. The Venezolano had been introduced in 1872 at a rate of 5 Bolívares each, and by 1879 both units still circulated in parallel accounting, leaving issuers to print both equivalents to avoid commercial disputes.
Surviving examples from this state issue are genuinely rare; Guayana's remote geography and small issuing volume worked against broad survival.