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50 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco Central de Venezuela - Caracas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark olive-grey and brown tones, with a large oval intaglio vignette at the left showing a bust portrait of Simón Bolívar in military uniform, inscribed 'BOLIVAR LIBERTADOR' beneath. The centre carries the large numeral '50' over a red-orange guilloche rosette, flanked by the date 'Febrero · 26 · 1953' and the legend 'PAGADEROS AL PORTADOR / EN LAS OFICINAS DEL BANCO'. The issuing authority 'BANCO CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA / CARACAS' appears across the top, with 'CINCUENTA BOLÍVARES' and the serial number 'C 0438331' at right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in red-orange on a pale ground, with a central panoramic vignette of the Plaza Bolívar monument in Caracas, rendered in fine line engraving with architectural and equestrian detail. To the right, within an oval frame, is the Venezuelan national coat of arms. The denomination '50' appears in large numerals at lower left, with repeated micro-numeral underprint borders and guilloche bands framing the composition. |
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| Comments |
Venezuela's postwar economic expansion, fueled by oil revenues under the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship, demanded a modernized currency series in the early 1950s. Thomas De La Rue produced this and the associated denominations at a moment when the bolívar was genuinely one of the stronger currencies in the Western Hemisphere — the official rate held close to 3.35 per US dollar throughout the decade.
Pick 40 belongs to a series that remained in production and circulation across multiple administrations, making clean date attribution sometimes tricky for individual specimens. The watermark is the primary security concession on an otherwise straightforward intaglio production.