Catalog
50 Lempiras
| Issuer | Banco Central de Honduras |
|---|---|
| Year | 1956 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Blue on yellow and multicolour underprint. Intaglio portrait of Dr. José Trinidad Reyes as a vignette to the left, with the Honduran coat of arms to the right. Guilloche patterns form the decorative underprint across the face of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in blue-grey, the central vignette presents an intaglio view of the University of Honduras building, flanked by trees and framed within an elaborate guilloche border. The denomination numeral 50 appears in each corner, with the institution's name and founding date inscribed below the architectural vignette. The printer's imprint appears at the foot of the design. |
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| Comments |
Honduras introduced the Lempira as its national currency in 1931, named after the sixteenth-century Lenca chieftain who resisted Spanish conquest — an unusual choice for a country whose monetary system was simultaneously being restructured under heavy United States banking influence. The Banco Central itself had only been established in 1950, making this a relatively early issue from a young institution still consolidating its note series.
De La Rue's involvement here is unsurprising; they held printing contracts across much of Central America during this period. P#54 is scarce in higher grades, as the 50 Lempira denomination saw genuine commercial use rather than sitting idle in reserves.