In 1988–1989 Venezuela’s nickel coins vanished from circulation: the metal in them was worth more than their face value, and they were melted down and smuggled out. The Central Bank responded with an emergency issue of low-value paper money.

The 5 bolívares of 21 September 1989 belonged to the same emergency issue, but in the normal format: the bank went back to the design of 1968–1974. The front shows Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Miranda, the back the National Pantheon in Caracas and the coat of arms.

Thus the five-bolívar note returned to circulation after a fifteen-year break: the previous ones were dated 1974.

The revival of an old design to replace the vanished coins makes this five a link between the issues of the 1970s and the 1989 crisis in a Venezuela collection. UNC condition means the note has never circulated: no folds, no wear, no soiling, even corners — just as it left the press.

You can find companions for this banknote, by series or by year of issue, in the VPcoins catalogue.