Collector’s Guide · September 29, 2026 · 7 min read

Venezuela’s 1,000,000 Bolívar Note, Explained: The Biggest Number That Became One

Dated September 3, 2020 and released in March 2021, the 1,000,000 bolívares soberanos note carries the highest face value ever printed on a Venezuelan banknote. Seven months later, it counted as exactly one bolívar.

What is the Venezuela 1,000,000 bolívar note?

It is a 1,000,000 bolívares soberanos note issued by the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV): the largest denomination the country has ever issued, and its only banknote with a seven-digit face value. Earlier top notes stopped at 50,000 bolívares before 2008, 100,000 bolívares fuertes in 2017 and 50,000 bolívares soberanos in 2019.

Every catalogued example is dated September 3, 2020. Collectors know it as Pick 114, and Owen Linzmayer’s The Banknote Book lists it as B384. The central bank has not published how many were printed.

Notice that the six zeros are missing. The front shows a large numeral 1 above the words “MILLÓN DE BOLÍVARES,” just as its two companions read “200 MIL” and “500 MIL.” In hindsight it looks like a preview: seven months later, the word “million” fell away and the note counted as one.

When was the 1 million bolívares soberanos note issued?

The BCV announced three new notes on Friday, March 5, 2021: 200,000, 500,000 and 1,000,000 bolívares soberanos. The bank said they would enter circulation gradually from Monday, March 8, to meet the requirements of the national economy. Until then, the largest note had been the 50,000 bolívares of 2019.

The two smaller notes reached bank counters first. In mid-March, Reuters reported that the 200,000 and 500,000 were circulating and that the central bank still planned to roll out the million. It was never plentiful: in August 2021, the Associated Press called it the highest denomination, “but it is scarce.”

The reason was hyperinflation. Reuters put annual inflation at 2,665 percent in January 2021, and economists cited by Voice of America date the hyperinflation cycle from late 2017 to January 2022. Each new top note was a snapshot of a price level that would not hold still, which is what makes these notes historically interesting. See where Venezuela sits in our list of every hyperinflation in history, ranked.

What does the 1,000,000 bolívar note look like?

The front is vertical: “República Bolivariana de Venezuela” at the top, then the denomination, the date “3 de septiembre de 2020,” the payment clause and the signatures of the BCV’s president and first vice president. Below is Simón Bolívar, taken from the forensic facial reconstruction by artist Philippe Froesch, which the Venezuelan government commissioned from remains exhumed in 2010.

The horizontal back shows the coat of arms, the triumphal arch at the Carabobo battlefield and Martín Tovar y Tovar’s painting of the Battle of Carabobo, under the legend “200 Años Batalla de Carabobo.” The 1821 battle was a decisive victory in Venezuela’s war of independence, and the note arrived in its bicentennial year. The colors are light blue with brown and cream tones.

Security features include a watermark of Bolívar with the initials BCV, a windowed security thread reading BCV, fluorescent fibers and ultraviolet ink, raised engraved printing on the front, a latent image and a see-through register.

How much was the 1,000,000 bolívar note worth in U.S. dollars?

About 50 U.S. cents at launch: CoinsWeekly, using a rate of 1,889,184 bolívares to the dollar, put it at $0.50, and Reuters gave the same figure. On August 5, 2021, AP reported that a five-liter bottle of water cost 7.4 million bolívares, or $1.84, putting one note near 25 cents. On September 30, the day before the redenomination, AP valued it at “a little less than a quarter.”

Those are historical exchange-rate figures, not a guide to the note’s value as a collectible.

What happened to the 1,000,000 bolívar note on October 1, 2021?

On Thursday, August 5, 2021, the BCV announced that the bolívar soberano would become the bolívar digital on October 1, at 1,000,000 to 1. Decree 4.553, published in the Official Gazette on August 6, let the old notes keep circulating alongside the new ones until the central bank decided otherwise. The bolívar, the bank said, “will not be worth more or less; it is only to facilitate its use on a simpler monetary scale.”

So on Friday, October 1, 2021, every 1,000,000 bolívar note counted as exactly one bolívar digital, and every 500,000 note as half of one. Venezuela’s largest number had become its basic unit. This Thursday marks five years since, which is why we call October 1 Six Zeros Day.

The million became the template

The new 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 bolívar digital notes are dated April 29, 2021, more than three months before the change was announced, and they reuse the million’s design almost element for element: the vertical front with the Froesch portrait, and the Carabobo reverse with the same “200 Años” legend. (The 200,000 and 500,000 show Bolívar’s mausoleum instead.) Our guide to the Venezuelan bolívar digitale covers that series in detail.

The million also outlasted its smaller siblings. On September 25, 2024, the BCV withdrew soberano notes of 200,000 and below from circulation (Official Gazette 42.952). The 500,000 and 1,000,000 were not on the list.

How does the 1,000,000 note fit Venezuela’s three redenominations?

Venezuela has removed zeros three times: three on January 1, 2008, five on August 20, 2018, and six on October 1, 2021. That is 3 + 5 + 6 = 14 zeros in under fourteen years, so one bolívar digital, the value of a single million note, equals 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) of the bolívares used before 2008.

Dates and ratios: AP, BBC News Mundo and Wikipedia. Note dates: Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela.

Look at the last row. Twice in just over three years, Venezuela’s largest banknote became exactly one unit of the currency that replaced it. The first, the 100,000 bolívares fuertes note dated 2017, counted as one bolívar soberano from August 20, 2018, but only for about 15 weeks: the old fuerte notes stopped being legal tender at 6 p.m. on December 5, 2018. The million’s run as “one” lasted years, not weeks.

The paper never changed. In March 2021 it said one million. On October 1 it meant one.

What should collectors look for in a 1,000,000 bolívar note?

Because the note spent years in everyday use, condition matters. What to check:

• Condition. Uncirculated (UNC) means no folds, creases, counting marks or rounded corners. Tilt the note under a lamp; a fold breaks the paper’s sheen.
• Thread variety. The Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela and Numista both record two security threads: a thinner one in five windows and a wider one in four. Hold the note to the light to see which you have.
• Serial prefixes. Serials are one letter plus eight digits. Regular prefixes are A, C, E and H; replacement notes, which substitute for sheets spoiled in production, carry X or Z.
• Consecutive serials. Consecutive numbers show that notes stayed together from the same bundle. Check that the final digits run in order with no gaps.
• Sets of ten. Ten notes make ten million bolívares soberanos, or ten bolívares digitales after October 1, 2021: the whole redenomination in one hand.
• Storage. Keep notes flat in archival, PVC-free sleeves, away from humidity and sunlight.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the Venezuela 1,000,000 bolívar note issued?

The Banco Central de Venezuela announced it on March 5, 2021, with new 200,000 and 500,000 notes, and released the three gradually from March 8, 2021. The note itself is dated September 3, 2020.

What is the Pick number of the 1,000,000 bolívares soberanos note?

It is catalogued as Pick 114. Owen Linzmayer’s The Banknote Book lists it as B384.

How much was the 1 million bolívar note worth in U.S. dollars?

About 50 U.S. cents at its March 2021 announcement, according to Reuters. On September 30, 2021, the day before the redenomination, the Associated Press put it at a little less than a quarter.

What is a 1,000,000 bolívar soberano note worth in bolívares digitales?

Exactly one. On October 1, 2021, Venezuela converted 1,000,000 bolívares soberanos into 1 bolívar digital, and the old notes kept circulating at that rate.

How many zeros has Venezuela removed from its currency?

Fourteen: three in 2008, five in 2018 and six in 2021. One bolívar digital equals 100 trillion of the bolívares used before 2008.

Whose portrait is on the 1,000,000 bolívar note?

Simón Bolívar, shown in the forensic facial reconstruction by artist Philippe Froesch. The reverse commemorates the bicentennial of the 1821 Battle of Carabobo.

How can I tell a replacement 1,000,000 bolívar note?

By the serial prefix. The Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela records regular prefixes A, C, E and H, and replacement prefixes X and Z.