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500 Bolivianos
| Issuer | Banco Central de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 156 × 66 mm |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of Colonel Germán Busch in military uniform within an oval vignette at right, with the Bolivian coat of arms at left; the central field carries large intaglio numeral '500' over a fine guilloche underprint in red. Printed text includes the issuing bank name along the top border, place of issue 'LA PAZ', and the law date 'Ley de 20 de Diciembre de 1945'. Three signature lines appear across the lower portion, with the printer's imprint of Thomas De La Rue & Company along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of miners at work inside a mine shaft, rendered in detailed intaglio engraving with figures operating equipment amid timber supports and rock faces. The denomination '500 BOLIVIANOS' appears in panels at left and right, flanked by ornate guilloche borders. Bank name and denomination inscriptions run along the top and bottom margins in letterpress. |
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| Comments |
Bolivia's wartime economy ran on export revenue from tin — the country was one of the Allied powers' principal suppliers — and the 1945 series reflects a moment of relative monetary stability before the inflationary pressures of the late 1940s began to erode the boliviano's purchasing power. Thomas De La Rue handled the printing throughout the Banco Central's earlier series, and the relationship was longstanding enough that plate designs were largely recycled across denominations with minimal revision.
The watermark is the sole mechanical security feature. By the early 1950s, this denomination had been rendered effectively worthless by hyperinflation, and the 1963 monetary reform replaced the boliviano at 1,000:1 with the peso boliviano.