Two Sets of Banknotes, One Country: Bolivia's Money Tells Its History

Pay for anything in Bolivia with cash and you will soon notice something strange. Your change may include two 20-boliviano notes that look nothing alike: one orange and classic, with a single elderly man in a high collar; the other bright and modern, with three faces and a caiman on the back. Both are real. Both are worth exactly the same. And both are in everyday use, right now.

Most visitors do not notice at first. But once our guides point it out, it is always the same reaction: a moment of silence, then "wait — how is that possible?" Here is the story.

Two families of banknotes

The boliviano was introduced in 1987, and for more than 30 years Bolivia used the same family of banknotes, issued under Law 901 of 1986. Then, in 2018, the Central Bank of Bolivia began releasing a completely new family — the first full redesign in more than three decades:

• 10 Bs: April 2018
• 20 Bs: July 2018
• 50 Bs: October 2018
• 100 Bs and 200 Bs: 2019

The old notes were not cancelled. The Central Bank announced that they would keep their full value and would be withdrawn little by little, as they wore out — without any fixed end date. Years later, the two families still live side by side in every wallet, shop and taxi in the country.

The detail most people miss: the name of the country

Look at the top of the notes. The old series says only "Banco Central de Bolivia". The new series adds a second line underneath: "Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia" — the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

That line reflects one of the biggest changes in modern Bolivian history: in 2009, the country stopped calling itself the "Republic of Bolivia" and officially became the "Plurinational State of Bolivia". We tell that story in detail — including the debate it caused — in our article Two Coins, Two Bolivias. On the coins the change is small and easy to miss. On the banknotes, it is impossible to ignore.

New faces: who is on the money

The biggest visual change is who the country chose to honor. The old notes each show one figure, mostly painters, writers and intellectuals of the republican era. The new notes show three people each, chosen to represent Indigenous leaders, women and fighters of independence — many of them heroes that most foreign visitors (and some Bolivians) had never seen on money before.

10 bolivianos

• Old: Cecilio Guzmán de Rojas, painter.
• New: José Santos "Tambor" Vargas, independence fighter and diarist; Apiaguaiki Tüpa, Guaraní leader; and Eustaquio "Moto" Méndez, hero of Tarija. On the back: Isla del Pescado in the Salar de Uyuni, the giant hummingbird and the Puya raimondii.

20 bolivianos

• Old: Pantaleón Dalence, jurist.
• New: Genoveva Ríos, the teenage girl who saved the Bolivian flag during the War of the Pacific; Tomás Katari, Indigenous rebel leader; and Pedro Ignacio Muiba, leader of the Moxos uprising. On the back: the black caiman and the toborochi tree.

50 bolivianos

• Old: Melchor Pérez de Holguín, colonial painter.
• New: José Manuel Baca "Cañoto", Bruno Racua and Pablo Zárate Willka. On the back: Sajama volcano and the Andean flamingo.

100 bolivianos

• Old: Gabriel René Moreno, historian.
• New: Juana Azurduy de Padilla, heroine of independence; Alejo Calatayud; and Antonio José de Sucre. On the back: the Arco Iris waterfall and the hyacinth macaw.

200 bolivianos

• Old: Franz Tamayo, writer.
• New: Túpac Katari and Bartolina Sisa, Aymara leaders of the 1781 siege of La Paz, alongside Simón Bolívar, the Liberator who gave the country its name. On the back: Tiwanaku and the Andean cat.

The backs of the new notes are a small tour of the country in themselves: the salt flats, the Andes, the lowland rivers and the Amazon rainforest.

A curious detail: the missing coca leaf

When the first new note was launched in 2018, President Evo Morales — a former coca growers' leader — publicly complained that the coca leaf had not been included in the designs. The Central Bank replied that it had simply not come up in its public consultations. The coca leaf, sacred in Andean culture, stayed off the money.

Why it surprises travelers

Many countries update the design of their banknotes from time to time. What makes Bolivia unusual is that the new design came with a new name for the state itself and a completely different choice of national heroes — while the old notes, from the republican era, never left circulation. In a single payment you can hold two versions of Bolivia's history in your hand.

Practical tips for travelers

• Both are valid. Old and new notes are accepted everywhere at the same value. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
• Check the condition. Small shops and taxis sometimes refuse torn, very worn or heavily marked notes of either series. Ask for clean notes when you change money.
• Carry small bills. 10 and 20 Bs notes are the most useful for taxis, markets, park entrance fees and toilets, especially outside the cities.
• Make your own collection. Try to get one old and one new note of the same value. Laid side by side, they are the quickest history lesson in the country — and a great souvenir.

Sources and further reading: Banco Central de Bolivia, Wikipedia: Bolivian boliviano.

Hear the stories behind the faces

Many of the people on Bolivia's new banknotes are part of the history you will walk through on your trip: Túpac Katari and Bartolina Sisa in La Paz, Juana Azurduy and the Casa de la Moneda in Potosí and Sucre, the Salar de Uyuni on the back of the 10. On our La Paz City Encounter, a local guide shares stories like these along the way. It is included in tours like Bolivia Explorer — 8 Days and Bolivia Elevates — 10 Days.

Read the first part of this story in Two Coins, Two Bolivias, or contact us to plan your trip.