Venezuelan Currency History and Evolution

The Venezuelan currency has a rich and complex history that spans over a century. The Bolivar, Venezuela's official currency, was first introduced in 1879 and was named after the country's independence hero, Simón Bolívar.

The original Bolivar was pegged to the US dollar at a fixed rate, which helped to stabilize the economy. This was a significant change from the previous currency, the Spanish dollar, which was widely used in Venezuela at the time.

In 2008, the government introduced the Bolivar Fuerte (VEF), which replaced the old Bolivar at a rate of 1:1,000. This move was intended to combat inflation, but it ultimately had the opposite effect.

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Venezuela was part of Gran Colombia, a federation with modern Colombia and Ecuador, from 1821 to 1830.

The monetary laws in force during this time were those of Colombia. Bolívar prohibited the circulation of all copper coin and all post-1810 royalist coin that had not been counterstamped at Bogotá.

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Only milled coin and the old Spanish macuquina were permitted to circulate. Congress ordered all gold and silver coin minted in Gran Colombia to meet the old Spanish standards.

Gold and silver were minted at Bogotá and Popayán, while the Caracas mint produced copper cuartillos between July 14, 1821 and its closure on October 31, 1822. This copper coin was legal tender to one peso fuerte.

Coins were inscribed REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA, indicating they were part of the Colombian republic. The monetary law of March 14, 1826 provided for a gold coinage based on the Colombian gold peso.

This gold peso weighed 1·797238 g, and a silver coinage based on the Colombian silver peso was also established. Bolívar's monetary law of November 6, 1828 confirmed the unrestricted circulation of macuquina.

The Department of Venezuela decreed the obligatory acceptance of silver macuquina in 1829, with a fine or imprisonment for sellers who refused. José Antonio Páez reopened the Caracas mint in 1829 and authorized a silver peseta and a copper cuartillo.

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The early Venezuelan currency was based on the silver peso and gold escudo, which was used throughout Spanish America. This system was established due to trade in cacao and the circulation of coin from the Mexico money supply.

In the late 17th century, trade brought money to the colony in the form of coin from Mexico, which increased significantly after the Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas obtained a trade monopoly in 1729. This led to the use of Spanish and Spanish-American coin as a common form of payment.

The prohibition on the circulation of American coin in Spain resulted in coin from the Spanish mints returning to Spain. The Guipuzcoana Company then brought in a large quantity of cobs (macuquina) from the Lima, Potosí, and Mexico City mints.

The first Venezuelan mint was established in Caracas in November 1802, and official copper tokens were authorized to deal with the problem of unregulated token issue. The first coins minted at Caracas were the 1/8r and 1/4r coins.

Venezuela shared the common Spanish-American monetary system, based on the silver peso and the gold escudo, which was used throughout Spanish America.

The colony received a significant amount of money in the late 17th century through trade, especially in cacao, in the form of coin from the Mexico money supply.

Trade monopolies, like the Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas, which obtained a monopoly in 1729, increased the amount of coin in circulation.

Spanish and Spanish-American coin became a common form of payment, but the prohibition on the circulation of American coin in Spain (May 4, 1754) resulted in coin from the Spanish mints returning to Spain.

A large quantity of cobs (macuquina) from the Lima, Potosí, and Mexico City mints were brought in by the Guipuzcoana Company.

These cob coins remained in circulation for many years, disappearing only in the first years of the Republic.

In 1787, a special coinage for Venezuela was created, but it was withdrawn due to concerns that it could be passed as regular coin.

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The coins were minted at Mexico City and shipped on April 16, but were later recalled and melted down in 1788.

Merchants used tokens (señas or fichas) to facilitate retail trade, especially in the later 18th century when the money supply was inadequate.

These tokens were made of iron, copper, or tin and were very widespread by 1795, but their unregulated issue and use was considered a problem.

The Caracas Cabildo authorized official copper tokens, and Venezuela's first mint opened at Caracas in November 1802.

Here are some specific tokens that were used:

Macuquina-style silver coins were also used, dated Año 2, including:

In Caracas, the royalists minted unique coins during the early 19th century. They produced cob-style macuquina until 1817, then switched to a new design inscribed with "CARACAS".

The new-style coin, known as morillera in Venezuela and caraqueña elsewhere, circulated widely. It's a testament to the widespread use of this coin that it became a staple in the region.

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Production numbers for the 1/8r coin are telling. In 1814, 12,000 coins were minted, while in 1817, that number dropped to 4,500. By 1818, production had surged to 94,000.

The 1/4r coin saw significant production, with 10,000 coins minted in 1813, 40,000 in 1814, and a staggering 2.130 million in 1817. The following year, production rose even further to 2.240 million.

Here are some key production numbers for the 1/4r and 2 reales coins:

The silver coins also had varying production numbers. The real, for example, saw 6,500 coins minted in 1817, 13,787 in 1818, and 10,729 in 1820.

The 2 reales coin had a wider range of production numbers, from 76,000 in 1817 to 1.450 million in 1819.

The Franco, Venezuela's official currency from 1848 to 1854, was a silver coin. It was declared equal to 20-centavos of the copper coins authorized between 1834 and 1842.

Liberty-head copper centavos were minted at Birmingham and London during this period. The different denominations of these coins were quite varied in terms of size and weight.

Here are the specifications of the Liberty-head copper centavos minted in 1852:

In 1852, the same coins were minted again, but with slightly different specifications. Here are the details:

In 1854, a new monetary law was introduced in Venezuela, which provided for a mint in Caracas to produce a national coinage based on both gold and silver.

The gold coins that were planned to be produced included the onza, media onza, doblón, escudo, and venezolano de oro.

Compañía de Accionistas was formed in 1855 with a capital of $600,000, and it issued notes for 5 pesos sencillos.

The silver coins that were planned to be produced included the peso fuerte or venezolano de plata, medio peso, peseta, real, and medio real.

These coins were to be made of 0·835 fine silver.

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Public Debt Certificates (1859-1861) were issued by the Venezuelan government as a form of currency. These certificates were legal tender and payable to bearer.

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Many of these certificates bore the signatures of respected merchants, lending credibility to their value. The government issued certificates for various denominations, including 8 reales and 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos.

Certificates were issued under various decrees, with the first on October 20, 1859 and the last on January 15, 1861. There were separate issues for Caracas, Carabobo, and Aragua, indicating regional variations in currency.

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The Junta de Recursos issued notes for 8 reales, which is equivalent to one peso sencillo, dated March 1, 1862.

These notes were a significant development in Venezuelan currency, marking a new era in the country's financial history.

The value of the notes was 8 reales, a denomination that would have been widely recognized and accepted in Venezuela at the time.

This move by the Junta de Recursos highlights the country's efforts to establish a standardized currency system, paving the way for future developments in Venezuelan finance.

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Private Bank Notes were a significant part of Venezuela's early currency system.

One notable example is the El Banco de Londres y Venezuela, Limitado, which was established in 1865 with a capital of £500,000 sterling. It was liquidated in 1867.

The bank issued notes for "5 pesos sencillos" (face, Spanish) or "5 dollars currency" (back, English), dated January 23, 1865. These notes were a unique combination of languages.

Private bank notes like these were likely used in everyday transactions, giving people a practical way to exchange goods and services.

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