20 Cordobas

Nicaragua's córdoba had already been redenominated twice by the early 1990s — the 1988 currency reform introduced the new córdoba at a rate of 1,000 to 1, itself replaced within two years by the córdoba oro. By 2002 the system had stabilized, and this note entered circulation under relatively calm monetary conditions, a marked contrast to the hyperinflationary spiral that had consumed the 1980s Sandinista-era issues.

The Canadian Bank Note Company contract for Nicaraguan paper currency ran through several denominations in this period. Watermark-only security was modest even by early-2000s standards — later issues in the series added security threads and color-shifting ink.