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5 Pesos
| Issuer | Compañía de Accionistas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Pesos |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COMPAÑÍA DE ACCIONISTAS CINCO PESOS CINCO PESOS SENCILLOS que se pagarán al portador a la vista, en Caracas en plata y en nonante por los abajo firmados. Caracas 1 de Febrero de 1856 Por la Direccion |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a plain, unadorned style on aged paper, bearing the issuer's name 'COMPAÑÍA ACCIONISTAS.' in large bold letterpress capitals across the centre of the note. A reddish-brown underprint vignette, possibly a torch or similar emblem, is visible at the centre beneath the text, with no further decorative elements. |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Comments |
The Compañía de Accionistas was a short-lived Venezuelan banking venture operating under a government concession in the mid-1850s, issuing notes that circulated in a country with no formal central banking structure and chronic coin shortages. Provincial merchant banks and shareholding companies filled that gap by necessity.
Printed locally in Caracas rather than sent abroad to established security printers — unusual for the period, when most Latin American issuers relied on firms in London or New York — which raises genuine questions about engraving quality and counterfeit resistance that plagued the note during its circulation life.