5 Bolívares Caracas Quadricentenary

Venezuela issued this 5 Bolívares note in 1966 to mark the 400th anniversary of Caracas's founding — or more precisely, the founding of Santiago de León de Caracas in 1567 by Diego de Losada. The commemorative occasion made this a departure from the standard Bolívares series, and the American Bank Note Company engraving credit to Felipe Sánchez is worth noting: Sánchez was one of the few Venezuelan nationals credited on ABNC-produced work during this period, suggesting a deliberate nod to national authorship on a patriotic issue.

Pick 49 is scarcer in genuinely circulated grades than its print run would suggest — commemorative issues of this type were frequently set aside by the public on release.