Nicaragua - The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes
50 Cordobas 1985 (1988) Issue P153

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Note Details

Set Details
Note Description: Nicaragua, Banco Central "Replacement"
50 Córdobas RC1 1985 (ND 1988)
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: NIC
Note Number: NIC153*
Signatures/
Vignettes:		 - Wmk: A.C. Sandino
Certification #: 8066946-007  
Owner: Love Collection
Sets Competing: Nicaragua - The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes  Score: 159
Nicaragua Replacement Notes  Score: 159
Date Added: 12/5/2019
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

These new issue notes were part of the then Sandinista covert Central Bank operation called Bertha (Operacion Berta), this was in part to help stem the problem of hyper inflation but was also a huge blow to those that held the old currency particularly those in business or had farms and dealt with large sums of cash. These notes are dated 1985 but weren't actually introduced into circulation until the president announced a decree demonetising the old Cordoba on a Sunday which happened to be Valentines Day 14th of February 1988. The general public only had 3 days in which to change over the old currency at official change tables set up throughout the country. The exchange rate was set at 1000 old cordobas for 1 new cordoba and there was a maximum of 10,000,000 old cordobas that could be exchanged per person or business entity. Those that held more than that amount were left with worthless pieces of paper that could be surrender to the central bank for nothing or could be kept as souvenirs, I recall reading a story that some business owners actually got together and had organised a bonfire to burn the old currency!

These notes that were issued have several different prefixes from FA, FB, FC, FD and the replacement notes were ZA such as this example. I don't have any information on how many were produced but its quite possible there was up to 10,000,000 for each prefix (as I have seen serial numbers from 0-9) so quite possibly up to 40 million were produced and issued.

The obverse of the banknote features Jose Dolores Estrada a Nicaraguan National Hero that was in charge of an army that helped defeat the filibuster army of William Walker in the battle at San Jacinto Hacienda in 1856. He was featured on the 100 Cordobas banknotes from 1962 through to 1984, then on this banknote from 1988, as well as the 50,000 and 10 million Cordobas notes from 1989/90. And finally on the 2002/06 500 Cordobas banknotes.

On the reverse of the note it shows a large crowd gathered for "Jornadas populares de salud" or Popular health days where a child is being vaccinated.

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