Venezuelan bolívar

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Venezuelan bolívar Bolívar fuerte venezolano (Spanish)
[[Image:|126px|2 to 100 Bs.F]] Bolívar fuerte coins
ISO 4217 Code	VEF
User(s)	Venezuela
Inflation	30.9%
Source	BusinessWeek, January 2009
Pegged with	U.S. dollar = Bs. F 2.15 (Greatly different black market rate; see article text)[1]
Subunit
1/100	céntimo
Symbol	Bs. F
Plural	bolívares fuertes
Coins
Freq. used	5, 10, 25, 50 céntimos, 1 Bs.F.
Rarely used	12½ and 1 céntimo
Banknotes	2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 Bs.F.
Central bank	Banco Central de Venezuela
Website	www.bcv.org.ve

The bolívar fuerte (plural: bolívares fuertes, ISO 4217 code: VEF; locally abbreviated as Bs. F) is the new currency of Venezuela since 1 January 2008. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos^[2] and replaced the bolívar (plural: bolívares, ISO 4217 code: VEB; locally abbreviated as Bs.) at the rate of Bs.F 1 = Bs.1000 due to inflation.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Bolívar 1.2 Bolívar fuerte 2 Coins 2.1 Bolívar 2.2 Bolívar fuerte 3 Banknotes 3.1 Bolívar 3.2 Bolívar fuerte 4 Current VEF exchange rates 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Bolívar

The bolívar was adopted by the monetary law of 1879, replacing the short-lived venezolano at a rate of 5 bolívares = 1 venezolano. Initially, the bolívar was defined on the silver standard, equal to 4.500 g fine silver, following the principles of the Latin Monetary Union. The monetary law of 1887 made the gold bolívar unlimited legal tender, and the gold standard came into full operation in 1910. Venezuela went off gold in 1930, and in 1934 the bolívar exchange rate was fixed in terms of the U.S. dollar at a rate of 3.914 bolívar = 1 dollar, revalued to 3.18 bolívar = 1 dollar in 1937, a rate which lasted until 1941. Until February 1983, the bolívar had been the region's most stable and internationally accepted currency. Since then, however, it has fallen prey to high devaluation.

From 1 March 2005, the former currency was officially pegged to the U.S. dollar at a fixed exchange rate of 2,150 bolívares to the dollar by the BCV.^[3]

[edit] Bolívar fuerte

The government announced on 7 March 2007 that the bolívar would be revalued at a ratio of 1 to 1000 on 1 January 2008 and renamed the bolívar fuerte in an effort to facilitate the ease of transaction and accounting.^[4] The new name is literally translated as "strong bolívar",^[5][6] but also references an old coin called the Peso fuerte worth 10 Spanish reales.^[7].

The name "bolívar fuerte" is only used temporarily to distinguish it from the older currency that is being used along with the bolívar fuerte. This duality will last until 2009.

The Central Bank of Venezuela is promoting the new currency with an ad campaign and the slogan: "Una economía fuerte, un bolivar fuerte, un país fuerte" (lit. "a strong economy, a strong bolívar, a strong country").^[4] Despite such campaigns, as of April 2009, the black market value of the bolívar fuerte hovers at around 7.0 to the U.S. dollar, more than three times the fixed exchange rate of 2.15.^[1] It is illegal to publish this statistic in Venezuela.^[1]

[edit] Coins

[edit] Bolívar

In 1879, silver coins were introduced in denominations of ¹⁄₅, ½, 1, 2 and 5 bolívares, together with gold 20 bolívares. Gold 100 bolívares were also issued between 1886 and 1889. In 1894, silver ¼ bolívar coins were introduced, followed by cupro-nickel 5 and 12½ céntimos in 1896.

In 1912, production of gold coins ceased, whilst production of the 5 bolívares ended in 1936. In 1965, nickel replaced silver in the 25 and 50 céntimos, with the same happening to the 1 and 2 bolívares in 1967. In 1971, cupro-nickel 10 céntimo coins were issued, the 12½ céntimos having last been issued in 1958. A nickel 5 bolívares was introduced in 1973. Clad steel (first copper, then nickel and cupro-nickel) was used for the 5 céntimos from 1974. Nickel clad steel was introduced for all denominations from 25 céntimos up to 5 bolívares in 1989.

In 1998, after a period of high inflation, a new coinage was introduced consisting of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 bolívar denominations.

The former coins were:

• 10 bolívares
• 20 bolívares
• 50 bolívares
• 100 bolívares
• 500 bolívares
• 1000 bolívares (introduced in 2006, recalled due to the coins using the old Coat of Arms)

All the coins had the same design. On the obverse the left profile of the Libertador Simón Bolívar is depicted, along with the inscription "Bolívar Libertador" within a heptagon, symbolizing the seven stars of the flag. On the reverse the coat of arms is depicted, circled by the official name of the country, with the date and the denomination below. In 2001, the reverse design was changed, putting the denomination of the coin at the right of the shield of the coat of arms, semicircled by the official name of the country and the year of its emission below.

[edit] Bolívar fuerte

Coins are in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 12½, 25, 50 céntimos, and 1 bolívar. However, the coin of 1 céntimo is not used much because most prices are rounded up to the next 5 céntimos.

[edit] Banknotes

[edit] Bolívar

In 1940, the Banco Central de Venezuela began issuing paper money, introducing by 1945 denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 bolívares. 5 bolívar notes were issued between 1966 and 1974, when they were replaced by coins. In 1989, notes for 1, 2 and 5 bolívares were issued.

As inflation took hold, higher denominations of banknotes started being introduced: 1,000 bolívares in 1991, 2,000 and 5,000 bolívares in 1994, and 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 bolívares in 1998. The first 20,000 banknotes were made in a green color similar to the one of the 2,000 banknotes, which caused confusion, and new banknotes were made in the new olive green color.

The following is a list of a former Venezuelan bolívar banknotes.

Pre-1998 series banknotes (from various series)
Image		Denomination	Emission Year	Obverse	Reverse
		500 bolívares	1981	Simón Bolívar	A branch of orchids
		1000 bolívares	1991	Simón Bolívar	Signing of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence
		2000 bolívares	1994	Antonio José de Sucre	The Battle of Junín
		5000 bolívares	1994	Simón Bolívar and his coat of arms	A reproduction of the painting El 19 de Abril de 1810 by Juan Lovera
[2]	[3]	10,000 bolívares	1998
1998-2007 Series
		1000 bolívares	1998	Simón Bolívar	A branch of orchids, the Cerro El Ávila, and the Panteón Nacional
		2000 bolívares	1998	Andrés Bello	A picture of frailejones and a view of the Pico Bolívar
		5000 bolívares	2000	Francisco de Miranda	Picture of two angelfishes and a panorama of the Guri Dam.
		10,000 bolívares	2000	Antonio José de Sucre	A Marpesia petreus butterfly and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice
		20,000 bolívares	2000	Simón Rodríguez and the Angel Falls in the background	A Blue-and-yellow Macaw and the Angel Falls
		50,000 bolívares	1998	José María Vargas	The Student's Square in the Ciudad Universitaria and the clock in it

[edit] Bolívar fuerte

Banknotes are in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 bolívares.

2008 Series
Image		Denomination	Emission Year	Obverse	Reverse
		2 bolívares	2008	Francisco de Miranda	Orinoco River Dolphins with Coro Dunes in background
		5 bolívares	2008	Pedro Camejo	Giant Armadillo with plains in background
		10 bolívares	2008	Cacique Guaicaipuro	American Harpy Eagle with Ucaima Falls in background
		20 bolívares	2008	Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi	Hawksbill turtle with Macanao Mountain in background
		50 bolívares	2008	Simón Rodríguez	Spectacled Bear with Laguna Santo Cristo in background
		100 bolívares	2008	Simón Bolívar	Red Siskin with Cerro El Ávila in background

Current VEF exchange rates

From Currate.com Tools:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

[edit] See also

• Economy of Venezuela
• SUCRE (currency)

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[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela
• Bolivar Fuerte
• History of Venezuelan Currency (Spanish)
• Bolivar Actual vs. Bolivar Fuerte (Spanish)

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