Catalog
5 Bolivianos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1892 |
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| Value | 5 Bolivianos |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by two intaglio vignettes: at left, a horse standing in a pastoral landscape, and at right, an allegorical female figure seated beside a bull, rendered in fine line engraving. A large guilloche-bordered numeral '5' appears at centre, with the denomination legend 'CINCO BOLIVIANOS' and the payable clause 'Pagará á la vista al portador' below. The heading 'EL BANCO NACIONAL DE BOLIVIA' arcs across the top, with the place and date of issue 'SUCRE, Enero 1° de 1892' and series designation 'SERIE J' noted above the central panel. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in dark brown on plain paper, with an ornate Greek-key guilloche border framing the entire note. At left, a circular guilloche medallion bears the large numeral '5', while the central vignette presents an allegorical pastoral scene of a young woman tending sheep and goats in a landscape setting, executed in detailed intaglio engraving. The legend 'Banco Nacional.' appears in large gothic script across the top, with 'BOLIVIA' at the base, and the denomination numeral '5' repeated in the upper and lower right corners. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Bolivia was chartered in 1871 and held a dominant position in Bolivian private banking through the end of the century, but its note-issuing privileges were sharply curtailed after the founding of the Banco de la República in 1911. Notes from the 1892 series were produced by the American Bank Note Company in New York, then the default choice for South American banking institutions that could afford the prestige and technical quality ABNC offered over local alternatives.
Bolivia's monetary system in this period was in chronic tension — silver production from Potosí had declined steeply, and the country's switch to the gold standard in 1908 would eventually render all earlier fractional and low-denomination private bank notes obsolete. Redemption was inconsistent, and surviving circulated examples from this series often show heavy fold wear consistent with extended use in regional commerce rather than urban banking centers.