Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco Central de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1984 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | 31 December 1987 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely composed of typewriter-overprinted text on a plain surface. The issuer name appears in spaced lettering across the top, followed by a centered legal instruction exempting the instrument from endorsement requirements, with the face value in numerals flanked by asterisks in the lower portion. |
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| Variants | P#181a - issued note P#181b - overprint "ANULADO" P#181c - paid; punch hole cancelled |
| 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.