This article is about the venezolano, the monetary unit of Venezuela between 1872 and 1879. See Currency of Venezuela for two earlier attempts (1854 and 1865) to introduce the venezolano, both of which failed.
History
editVenezolano = 10 Décimos = 100 Centavos (Céntimos, Centésimos)
Conversion: 1 venezolano = 1 peso fuerte
The monetary law of May 11, 1871 adopted the Latin Monetary Union bimetallic standard, basing it on a silver fuerte (venezolano de plata) of 25·000 g 900 fine and a gold venezolano of 1·612 g 900 fine. The silver venezolano of 100 centavos was equal to the peso fuerte. There would be a subsidiary silver coinage only 835 fine, legal tender to a maximum of 40 fuertes per transaction,
From January 1, 1872 all accounts had to be converted and expressed in venezolanos and centavos. Coins minted in conformity with the 1857 monetary law were to continue in circulation. The new coinage was minted in Paris and was introduced into circulation in June 1874. The Venezuelan coinage of 1858 had been very limited; the coinage of 1873-1877 marked the establishment of a true, modern national coinage.
The monetary law of March 31, 1879 replaced the venezolano as the monetary unit with the silver bolívar at 5 bolívares = 1 venezolano (peso fuerte) or 1 bolívar = 20 centavos de venezolano.
Coin
editOn June 11, 1873, the government ordered subsidiary silver coins of 5, 10, 20, and 50 centésimos de venezolano from Paris. An order for gold coins was placed on September 16, 1874, originally for pieces of 1, 5, 10, and 20 venezolanos, the 20-venezolano gold piece to be called the Bolívar. This order was subsequently altered to a silver 1 venezolano and a gold 5 venezolanos. The dies for the coins produced in Paris were engraved by Albert Désiré Barre, chief engraver of the Paris mint (1855-1878).
On June 14, 1876, the Minister of Finance ordered coins of 75% copper and 25% nickel for 1 and 2-1/2 centésimos de venezolano from the United States to replace copper centavos. They were minted at Philadelphia.
| Coin: | 0·01 | 0·025 | 0·05 | 0·10 | 0·20 | 0·50 | 1 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| type: | 1876 | 1876 | 1874 | 1874 | 1874 | 1873 | 1876 | 1875 |
| name: | puya | locha | medio | real | peseta | bamba | fuerte | ----- |
| CuNi | CuNi | AR ·835 | AR ·835 | AR ·835 | AR ·835 | AR ·900 | AV ·900 | |
| grams | 2·500 | 4·000 | 1·250 | 2·500 | 5·000 | 12·500 | 25·000 | 8·0645 |
| mm: | 19 | 23 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 30 | 37 | 22 |
| 1873 | 0·200 | |||||||
| 1874 | 0·800 | 0·800 | 0·400 | 0·200 | ||||
| 1875 | 0·0692 | |||||||
| 1876 | 8·000 | 1·500 | 0·520 | 0·280 | 0·136 | 0·158 | 0·035 | |
| 1877 | 2·000 | 0·500 |
Paper
editCompañia de Crédito
editCompañia de Crédito, which had been established on December 9, 1870 by Gen. Antonio Guzmán Blanco, was privately owned with minority government participation, and was created primarily in order to pay off outstanding government debts. Guzmán increased central government power by virtually privatizing customs collection (the chief source of national and regional government income) through this institution. It issued notes to bearer for 5, 10, 50, and 100 venezolanos until it was liquidated in July 1876.
It issued only one series of notes, printed by American Bank Note Company. The notes were uniface and of uniform size, 195 × 102 mm. The payment clause reads "Vale por [numeric counter] que se pagarán al portador en Carácas á la presentacíon."
■ 5 venezolanos (P-S326)
■ 10 venezolanos (P-S327)
■ 50 venezolanos (P-S328)
■ 100 venezolanos (P-S329)
Banco de Caracas
editBanco de Caracas was founded in July 1876, reorganized on August 11, 1877, and dissolved on March 27, 1881. It made two issues of notes for 5, 20, and 100 venezolanos.
The bank's first series (circa 1876) was printed by American Bank Note Company. The notes were uniface black on white with a tan underprint reading "CAPITAL 160,000 VENEZOLANOS". All three denominations have a payment clause reading "Vale por [numeric counter] que se pagarán al portador en Carácas á la presentacion" and bear two signatures: Por la Direccíon + El Administrador. The notes are of uniform size: 207 × 104 mm.
■ 5 venezolanos (P-Sxxx) seated woman with boxes (centre)
■ 20 venezolanos (P-Sxxx) Colombus sighting land (centre)
■ 100 venezolanos (P-Sxxx) explorers landing (centre)
The bank's second series resulted from its reorganization (August 11, 1877) and increase in capital. These too are uniface notes printed by American Bank Note Company. The notes are of a new design. The same payment clause is retained, but the underprint has been altered to "CAPITAL 200,000 VENEZOLANOS".
■ 5 venezolanos, (P-Sxxx)
■ 20 venezolanos, blue underprint, (P-Sxxx)
■ 100 venezolanos (P-Sxxx)
State of Guayana
editThe province of Guayana (Estado de Guayana) issued notes in 1878-1880 for 50 centésimos and 1, 2, 4, and 8 venezolanos.