Catalog
50 Venezolanos
| Issuer | Compañía de Crédito |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is arranged in a horizontal format with the issuer's name COMPAÑÍA DE CRÉDITO arched across the top in bold letterpress. A central vignette presents the Venezuelan coat of arms flanked by ornate guilloche cornerpieces, each bearing the numeral 50 in large format at all four corners. The denomination legend CINCUENTA VENEZOLANOS is inscribed in a banner below the arms, with manuscript payable text and spaces for date and signatures at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COMPAÑÍA DE CRÉDITO VALE POR CINCUENTA VENEZOLANOS que se pagarán al portador en Caracas Caracas, a la presentación de 18 Por la Dirección El Administrador 50 |
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| Comments |
The Compañía de Crédito was one of several private Venezuelan commercial banks authorized to issue their own currency under the permissive banking legislation of the early 1870s. These institutions operated in a regulatory environment with almost no central oversight, and their notes circulated on the strength of the issuing company's reputation alone — a fragile basis that would eventually contribute to the banking chaos of later decades.
The American Bank Note Company contract for this series is the most reliable datum here. ABNC's work for Venezuelan private banks in this period was prolific, and the 50 Venezolanos denomination would have been high-value enough that surviving examples were almost certainly held rather than spent into heavy circulation.