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500 Bolívares
| Issuer | Banco de Venezuela |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916-1921 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Blue-grey intaglio print over a multicolour guilloche underprint, with the bank title 'BANCO DE VENEZUELA / SOCIEDAD ANÓNIMA' arching across the upper margin. An oval portrait vignette at left presents Simón Bolívar in military uniform, turned three-quarters right, while the central field carries the large numeral '500' above the legend 'VALE POR QUINIENTOS BOLÍVARES' and the payability clause 'PAGADEROS AL PORTADOR EN LAS OFICINAS DEL BANCO'. Denomination numerals are repeated in each corner panel. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in blue intaglio over dense guilloche lathe-work panels that fill the entire field, the reverse centres on the Venezuelan national coat of arms within a circular frame, flanked by bold numerals '500' to either side. The arc inscription 'BANCO DE VENEZUELA' runs above the central vignette with 'VENEZUELA' below, and the denomination numeral is repeated in each corner. The overall composition relies on intricate scrollwork to create a richly patterned background throughout. |
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| Comments |
Banco de Venezuela was a private commercial bank operating under government concession, not a central bank — Venezuela would not establish the Banco Central until 1940. Notes issued under this arrangement carried the full weight of private liability, backed by the bank's own reserves rather than any state guarantee. The 500 Bolívares denomination was the highest in regular circulation for the period, making it almost exclusively an instrument of commercial and interbank settlement rather than everyday trade.
American Bank Note Company produced the series in New York, as was common for Latin American issuers of the era who lacked domestic security printing facilities of sufficient quality. ABNC's intaglio work on Venezuelan paper from this period is generally crisp, though some known examples from the later end of the 1916–1921 date range show ink saturation inconsistencies attributable to plate wear.