100 Bolívares

The Banco de Venezuela was a private commercial bank, not a central bank — Venezuela had no central bank until 1940. Notes issued under its authority during this period circulated alongside those of other chartered private institutions, the whole system functioning under government concession rather than monopoly. The 100 Bolívares denomination placed this squarely in the high-value commercial register, used for wholesale trade and inter-bank settlement rather than ordinary retail transactions.

American Bank Note Company produced the bulk of Latin American private bank currency in this period from their Manhattan facilities. The S-prefix in the Pick reference designates it as a State or private commercial bank issue, distinct from the later national series that followed the 1940 central bank legislation.