Catalog
50 Centavos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Nicaragua |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centavos (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a Liberty portrait flanked by the denomination numeral '50' on both sides within ornate guilloche rosettes. Three signature lines appear below, representing the President of the Republic, the Minister of Finance, and the General Manager, with bilingual legal tender text in Spanish spanning the note body. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central triangular vignette of the Nicaraguan coat of arms — a triangle enclosing five volcanoes rising from the sea beneath a liberty cap and rainbow — set between two large denomination rosettes bearing the numeral '50' in intaglio. The bank name appears in both English and Spanish at the top, with the denomination in words along the lower border, all within an elaborate engraved frame. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Nicaragua was a state-controlled institution that served simultaneously as the country's central bank and commercial bank — an unusual dual role that persisted until the Banco Central de Nicaragua was established in 1960. The American Bank Note Company contract for this series reflected Nicaragua's longstanding reliance on U.S. financial infrastructure during the Somoza period, which had just begun when this note was issued.
The 50 centavos denomination saw heavy everyday circulation and survivors in decent condition are genuinely scarce. ABNC-printed Nicaraguan low denominations of this period are frequently found with significant wear or repaired edges.