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5 Bolívares
| Issuer | Leproserías Nacionales - Ministerio de Sanidad y Asistencia Social |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
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| Currency | Bolívar (1879-1983) |
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| Obverse description | Blue note with a central vignette of a tropical coastal scene with a sailboat on calm waters, palm trees, and a mountainous background. Large numeral '5' guilloche rosettes flank the central vignette on both left and right. A red serial number and a handwritten signature appear at the lower centre, with the text 'CINCO BOLIVARES' in bold letterpress beneath the vignette. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MINISTERIO DE SANIDAD Y ASISTENCIA SOCIAL LEPROSERIAS NACIONALES 5 BOLIVARES CINCO BOLIVARES PARA CIRCULAR UNICAMENTE EN LAS LEPROSERIAS |
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| Comments |
Venezuela maintained a parallel monetary system within its leprosaria well into the twentieth century — patients were legally prohibited from handling ordinary currency, and purpose-issued notes like this one circulated exclusively inside the colony. The Ministerio de Sanidad y Asistencia Social administered the program, with notes printed domestically rather than contracted abroad as was common for Venezuelan state issues of the period.
Leprosarium currency was destroyed or sterilized upon a patient's discharge or death, which accounts for the extreme scarcity of surviving examples across all denominations. The 5 Bolívares sits at the upper end of the series' practical purchasing power for daily colony life.