Catalog
500 Bolivianos
| Issuer | Banco Central de Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | 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 | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#143 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse repeats the same general design layout as the obverse, with the portrait of Marshal Antonio José de Sucre in an oval intaglio vignette at right and the Bolivian coat of arms at left, printed in a darker olive-green tone. The large central guilloche carries the denomination "500" and "QUINIENTOS BOLIVIANOS", with the series letter and serial number printed in red. The note's lower border bears the inscription "CINCUENTA BOLÍVARES" and the printer's imprint. |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | the Bolivian coat of arms visible in the paper when held to light. |
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| Comments |
Bolivia's postwar inflationary pressure was already building by 1945, and the 500 Boliviano denomination reflected how far purchasing power had eroded since De La Rue first supplied plates to La Paz in the 1920s. Thomas De La Rue produced the note in London under wartime and immediate postwar paper constraints, which occasionally affected ink consistency and sheet quality across South American contracts of this period.
Pick 143 is the last substantive issue of this design series before Bolivia's monetary system fractured in the early 1950s, culminating in the catastrophic inflation that eventually required a full currency replacement with the Peso Boliviano in 1963.