B390 (PNL): 200 bolívares
Purple, yellow, and black. Front (vertical): Spanish text; radiant suns; BCV on Venezuelan map as registration device; three portraits of Simón Bolívar. Back: Spanish text; Venezuelan coat of arms; Puente Rafael Urdaneta (General Rafael Urdaneta cable-stayed bridge at Tablazo Strait outlet of Lake Maracaibo); Batalla Naval en el Lago de Maracaibo (Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo); BCV on Venezuelan map as registration device. 2-mm wide windowed security thread with demetalized BCV. Watermark: Simón Bolívar and electrotype BCV. Printer: CASA DE LA MONEDA-VENEZUELA. 156 x 69 mm. Paper.
a. 17 DE AGOSTO DE 2023. Sig. 37: Ortega/Hernández. Intro: 16.08.2024.
Courtesy of Rene J. Garcia R and Thomas Augustsson.
While I wait for my pieces (which may take forever to reach the banks here as usual), I can confirm that this one was printed in Venezuela (small serials, Arial-esque font) – both serials are red indeed this time.
Prefix A so far, and given that this was printed here, the replacements should bear the Z prefix as is the practice at our Mint. And be 1000x times as hard to find too.
As a reminder, the current circulating pieces for the latest bolivar issue are:
– 5 bolivares: ~80 million pieces, prefixes A, Z, printed in Venezuela.
– 10 bolivares: ~200 million pieces, prefixes A, B, C, X, printed in Russia. The C prefix is rare, only 100K pieces issued!
– 20 bolivares: ~350 million pieces, prefixes A, B, C, E, X, printed in Russia.
– 50 bolivares: ~320 million pieces, prefixes A, B, C, E, X, printed in Russia.
– 100 bolivares: ~320 million pieces, prefixes A, B, C, D, Z, printed in Venezuela.
A family shot of the entire collection so far (minus the newcomers):
https://media.tsdx.net.ve/IMG_20231004_160419.jpg