Catalog
500 000 Pesos Bolivianos
| Issuer | Banco Central de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1984 |
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| Currency | Peso boliviano (1963-1986) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | (printed) BANCO CENTRAL DE BOLIVIA CHEQUE DE GERENCIA FECHA (overprinted) La Paz, Junio 4 de 1984 (printed) $b. (overprinted) 500.000.- (printed) Paguese a la Orden de (overprinted) Portador (printed) La suma de (overprinted) QUINIENTOS MIL 00/100 -X-X-X-X-X-X-.... .... (printed) Pesos Bolivianos (Translation: (printed) Central Bank of Bolivia Management Check Date (overprinted) La Paz, June 4th, 1984 (printed) $b. (overprinted) 500,000.- (printed) Be paid to the order of (overprinted) Bearer (printed) The amount of (overprinted) Five Hundred Thousand 00/100 -X-X-X-X-X-X-.... .... (printed) Pesos Bolivianos) |
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| Reverse lettering | B A N C O C E N T R A L D E B O L I V I A ESTE CHEQUE-BILLETE NO REQUIERE ENDOSO **** $b. 500.000.-- **** (Translation: Central Bank of Bolivia This check/banknote does not require endorsement $b. 500,000.00) |
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| Comments |
By 1984, Bolivia's inflation was accelerating toward what would become one of the worst hyperinflationary episodes in recorded history — peaking above 20,000% annually by 1985. The 500,000 Pesos Bolivianos denomination was not an outlier; it was a stopgap, one of several high-denomination notes rushed into circulation as purchasing power collapsed faster than the presses could respond.
Printed domestically by the Casa de Moneda de Bolivia in Potosí — the colonial mint repurposed for modern currency production — rather than contracted abroad, which was unusual given Bolivia's typical reliance on foreign security printers for this period. The entire Pesos Bolivianos series was rendered obsolete in 1987 when the Boliviano replaced it at a conversion rate of one million to one.