500 Bolívares

The Banco de Caracas was a private commercial bank chartered in 1876, operating during a period when Venezuela had no central bank and private institutions held the right of note issue. A 500 Bolívares denomination in 1879 represented serious money — not a note that moved through ordinary hands. These circulated almost exclusively in large commercial transactions and interbank settlements.

American Bank Note Company's work for Venezuelan private banks during this period is well documented, and the quality of engraving on this series is markedly higher than contemporaneous domestic printing could have achieved.