Set Category:
Owner:
Set Theme:
Venezuelan Hyperinflation Banknotes: The Bolivares Fuertes (Strong Bolivares, BsF, VEF) and the Bolivares Soberanos (Sovereign Bolivares, BsS, VES). The name of this set is based on the names assigned to the various "new" Bolivars created by the successive redenominations during the Hyperinflationary period.
Set Description:
Ever since I first learned about the concept of "hyper-inflation," about 10 years ago, I have been fascinated by these economic events and I first encountered the concept when reading articles about Zimbabwe. Hyperinflations have been rather more common throughout history than I think anyone that has experienced, or even read about it, would like.
It has been pointed out - including by PMG, when talking about my sets even - that building a set of these notes is not hard. But I think this is a good thing and a strength of the set / series.
When you want to "see" hyperinflation, you must look at currency. Some people dismiss hyperinflation notes as "just big numbers, but this ignores the fact that you can get large denominations without hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is denoted by large numbers of notes and designs issued in relatively and increasingly short periods of time with rapidly increasing denominations. So, collecting hyperinflation notes is probably going to mean wanting to collect sets, not individual notes, and the modern hyperinflations in Zimbabwe and Venezuela offered great opportunities to build large sets of high-grade hyperinflation notes at a relatively low cost, making a low entry point for collectors and collecting.
I feel like the Zimbabwean hyperinflation gets so much more attention than the Venezuelan event - from the press / in the news and from collectors. I remember hearing about the Zimbabwean hyperinflation a lot and seeing tons of articles about it, but I heard comparatively nothing about the inflation in Venezuela. This is funny to think about because reading these articles at the time really captured my imagination at the time and was critical in creating the love and interest that lead me to make "Gradually, Then Suddenly." I find these notes interesting, and I think they are far prettier on average than the Zimbabwe notes, but I don't feel like I connect with them in quite the same way.
I feel like this broader relative lack of attention comes from a variety of factors. 1) I think Chavez made a lot of drama and a lot of attention went to him and not to the inflation - something Mugabe never seemed to do. 2) Zimbabwe started first and so it peaked sooner. Zimbabwe peaked when Venezuela was just getting started. 3) Zimbabwe was more explosive with more series and more notes, so it was more exciting and gave people more to write about and... 4) Zimbabwe had the big numbers. Love it or hate it, those 100 Trillion notes cemented a lasting legacy and staying power in cultural awareness for a lot of people - Venezuela FINALLY just printed a 1 Million denomination in 2021, 12 years after the suspension of the Zimbabwean 4th dollars.
Still, I feel like this is a wonderful series to collect and it offers some of the same advantages as the Zimbabwe collection - the ability to make complete sets of hyperinflation notes for not a lot of money - while in some ways being even better. This collection is a lot smaller / shorter than the full Zimbabwe collection from P-1 to P-104 and that makes it a far less daunting project to start - and they are prettier.
I also feel like there is a lot more fun to be had with looking into not just the history of the notes and the hyperinflation, also but researching the animals and the historical figures and locations depicted - and I have had my fun with that with this set.
Beyond my interest in hyperinflation and hyperinflation notes, this story has some significance to me because I am a chemical engineer that lives in Texas, so I do a lot of work in and with the oil and gas industry. The nationalization and mismanagement of the oil and gas industry and resources in Venezuela is a major part of what lead to the downfall of the country and its economy and started the country down this road to hyperinflation (See the description on VEN90). It has been about 20 years since all that started and there are still many in Texas that will sneer and scoff at the mention of Venezuela - a lot of US companies got burned bad by the Chavez regime.
1,000 Bolivares (Bs) = 1 Bolivar Fuerte (BsF)
100,000 Bolivares Fuertes (BsF) = 1 Bolivar Soberano (BsS)
100,000,000 Bolivares (Bs) = 1 Bolivar Soberano (BsS)
1,000,000 Bolivares Soberano (BsS) = 1 Bolivar Digital (BsD)
100,000,000,000 Bolivares Fuertes (BsF) = 1 Bolivar Digital (BsD)
100,000,000,000,000 Bolivares (Bs) = 1 Bolivar Digital (BsD)
Views:
745
| VEN88, 2007-2016, 2 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
2506666-072
| 2 Bolívares 2012 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN89, 2007-2016, 5 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8046637-009
| 5 Bolívares Pick Unlisted 2014 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN90, 2007-2016, 10 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8046596-003
| 10 Bolívares 2013 | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN91e, 2007-2016 (2011), 20 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8085715-052
| 20 Bolívares 2011 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN91, 2007-2016 (2014), 20 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8046364-053
| 20 Bolívares 2014 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN92, 2007-2016, 50 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8047658-017
| 50 Bolívares 2015 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN93, 2007-2016, 100 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8077102-070
| 100 Bolívares 2015 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN94, 2016-2017, 500 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8046875-079
| 500 Bolívares 2016 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN95, 2016-2017, 1000 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
1740967-062
| 1000 Bolívares Pick Unlisted 2016 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN96, 2016-2017, 2000 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
1740966-075
| 2000 Bolívares Pick Unlisted 2016 | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN97, 2016-2017, 5000 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
1740971-059
| 5000 Bolívares Pick Unlisted 2016 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN98, 2016-2017, 10000 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
1741802-106
| 10,000 Bolívares 2016 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN99, 2016-2017, 20000 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
2506671-019
| 20,000 Bolívares Pick Unlisted 2016 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN100b, 2017, 100000 VEF |
Bolivares Fuertes
(Strong Bolivar)
|
8076118-022
| 100,000 Bolívares 2017 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN101a, 2018, 2 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8077102-067
| 2 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN102a, 2018, 5 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8083349-039
| 5 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN102a*, 2018, 5 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
Replacement Note
|
8077102-071
| 5 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN103a, 2018, 10 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8083261-008
| 10 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN104, 2018, 20 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
1963232-047
| 20 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 66 EPQ |
|
| VEN105a, 2018, 50 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8083261-009
| 50 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN106a, 2018, 100 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8072677-062
| 100 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN107a, 2018, 200 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8083261-015
| 200 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN108b, 2018, 500 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8081502-011
| 500 Bolívares 2018 - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN109b, 2019, 10,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
Narrow Seg. Sec.
Thread
|
8085076-074
| 10,000 Bolívares 2019 - Wmk: S. Bolívar & BCV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN110a, 2019, 20,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
Wide Seg. Sec.
Thread
|
8081912-014
| 20,000 Bolívares 2019 - Wmk: S. Bolívar & BCV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN110b, 2019, 20,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
Narrow Seg. Sec.
Thread
|
8085076-076
| 20,000 Bolívares 2019 - Wmk: S. Bolívar & BCV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN111a, 2019, 50,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
Wide Seg. Sec.
Thread
|
8079610-041
| 50,000 Bolívares 2019 - Wmk: S. Bolívar & BCV | Venezuela | 67 EPQ |
|
| VEN111b, 2019, 50,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
Narrow Seg. Sec.
Thread
|
8086897-024
| 50,000 Bolívares 2019 - Wmk: S. Bolívar & BCV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN112a, 2021, 200,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8090201-006
| Venezuela, Banco Central
200,000 Bolívares - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN113a, 2021, 500,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8087733-085
| Venezuela, Banco Central
500,000 Bolívares - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN114a, 2021, 1,000,000 VES |
Bolivares Soberanos
(Sovereign Bolivar)
|
8090521-004
| 1,000,000 Bolívares 2020 (ND 2021) | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN115a, 2021, 5 VED |
Bolivares Digital
(Digital Bolivar)
|
| | | |
|
| VEN116a, 2021, 10 VED |
Bolivares Digital
(Digital Bolivar)
|
2175652-090
| Venezuela, Banco Central
10 Bol?vares - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN117a, 2021, 20 VED |
Bolivares Digital
(Digital Bolivar)
|
2175652-099
| Venezuela, Banco Central
20 Bol?vares - Printer: CMV | Venezuela | 68 EPQ |
|
| VEN118a, 2021, 50 VED |
Bolivares Digital
(Digital Bolivar)
|
| | | |
|
| VEN119a, 2021, 100 VED |
Bolivares Digital
(Digital Bolivar)
|
| | | |
|
|