5000 Bolivianos

Bolivia's wartime economy ran hot on commodity revenues — tin, rubber, and tungsten exports to the Allies pushed government spending well beyond what lower denominations could comfortably handle, which is the real reason notes of this size entered circulation in the mid-1940s. Thomas De La Rue had maintained the Banco Central account through the 1930s, and this high-value note continues that relationship.

The 5000 Bolivianos denomination was short-lived in practical terms. Postwar inflation rapidly eroded its purchasing power, and Bolivia's subsequent monetary reforms — culminating in the 1963 introduction of the Peso Boliviano at a rate of 1000 to 1 — rendered the entire Bolivianos series obsolete.