2 Lempiras

Banco de Honduras — not to be confused with the later Banco Central de Honduras, which absorbed its functions in 1950 — issued this note during a period of acute fiscal strain. The early 1930s hit Central American economies hard: falling banana and coffee revenues, combined with the regional fallout of the global depression, forced severe contraction in money supply. A 2-lempira denomination was practical currency for daily commerce, not a reserve instrument.

Waterlow & Sons had long-standing relationships with Latin American issuing banks and printed several Honduran series concurrently. The cotton substrate was standard for Waterlow at this period, chosen for durability in tropical climates where humidity destroyed rag-free paper rapidly.