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500 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco de Venezuela |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black with a blue guilloche underprint on white cotton paper, the obverse carries the bank title 'BANCO DE VENEZUELA' in large letterpress across the upper portion, with the denomination numeral '500' in an ornate panel at the upper right. A central-left intaglio vignette presents a detailed mining scene with workers and equipment inside a tunnel, while to the right an oval intaglio portrait vignette depicts a uniformed military figure identified as Simón Bolívar, with the inscription 'QUINIENTOS BOLÍVARES' below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in blue, the reverse is composed of an elaborate intaglio guilloche framework of interlocking geometric and floral lathe-work filling the entire field. At centre-left, a large circular vignette contains the Venezuelan national coat of arms within a fine ornamental border, accompanied by the text 'BANCO DE VENEZUELA 500', while the bold denomination numeral '500' occupies a highly ornate guilloche panel to the right, with the numeral repeated at each corner. |
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| Comments |
The Banco de Venezuela was founded in 1890 — the same year this note was issued — making this an early emission from one of Venezuela's first formally chartered commercial banks. The American Bank Note Company in New York was the prestige choice for Latin American issuers of the period, and a 500 Bolívar denomination from an inaugural year would have circulated almost exclusively in large commercial transactions, rarely handled by ordinary Venezuelans.
At that denomination, surviving examples from this emission are exceptionally rare. The bank itself was nationalized in 2009 after more than a century of operation.