Collector's Guide · World Banknotes · October 2026

Venezuela's 500 Bolívares Note Equals 500 Million Old Bolívares

The 500 is the top of the bolívar digital family. Here is what the number stands for, how it differs from the 200, and what is printed on it.

What is the Venezuelan 500 Bolívares Digitales note?

It is the top note of the bolívar digital, the currency Venezuela introduced on October 1, 2021. The family now runs 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 bolívares. The Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) announced the 200 and 500 together in August 2024, and AFP headlined the 500 as the new maximum denomination, equal to about US$13.60 at the official rate of roughly 37 bolívares per dollar at the time.

The note is dated August 17, 2023, a year before the announcement, which is why collectors catalog it as 2023. AFP reported that the notes would enter circulation gradually.

How much is 500 bolívares in old bolívares?

Five hundred million. The 2021 redenomination set one bolívar digital equal to 1,000,000 bolívares soberanos (Bs.S), so 500 Bs.D equals 500 × 1,000,000 = 500,000,000 Bs.S. That is why our listings call it the 500 Million Digitale, and why a pair is described as 1 billion bolívares in total. It is the figure on the older currency's scale, a statement about arithmetic and not about what the note buys today.

Put another way, one 500 Bolívares note equals five hundred of the old 1,000,000 bolívar notes. Our guide to the 1,000,000 bolívar note, Pick 114 shows what one of those looked like.

How many zeros are behind a 500 Bolívares note?

Fourteen. Venezuela removed three zeros in 2008, five in 2018 and six in 2021, and each step shrank the numbers printed on the notes. This is what one 500 Bolívares note stands for at every stage:

The 50 quadrillion figure is our arithmetic from the three official ratios, not a number printed on the note. It is a vivid way to see what hyperinflation did to the unit of account, and it is why this stretch of Venezuelan paper money is collectible: each redenomination closed one family of notes and opened the next.

Fourteen zeros have come off the bolívar since 2008. The 500 is the highest denomination left.

What is printed on the 500 Bolívares note?

Size and colors

156 × 69 mm, in green over a light brown and green background, according to the Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela. The front is laid out vertically and the back horizontally.

Front

"República Bolivariana de Venezuela," the numeral 500, "Quinientos Bolívares," the date and signatures, and three portraits of Simón Bolívar after paintings by Philippe Froesch, Rita Matilde de la Peñuela and an unknown artist.

Back

The national coat of arms, the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge over Lake Maracaibo and a view of the Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo after Ambroise Louis Garneray, with the inscription "200 Años 1823–2023 Batalla Naval" marking the battle's bicentennial.

Security features cataloged

A diving thread that shows "BCV" in five windows, a watermark of "BCV" and a Bolívar portrait, see-through register, invisible ink under ultraviolet light, a color-shifting numeral 500 in optically variable ink on the front and a latent "BCV" image at the bottom.

How is the 500 Bolívares different from the 200 Bolívares?

They share a size, a date and a security layout. The number, the colors and the replacement-note runs are what set them apart. Our guide to the 200 Bolívares covers the smaller note in detail.

Figures are from the Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela, which marks the totals as estimates.

How many 500 Bolívares notes were printed?

The BCV has not published a print run. The Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela has recorded serial numbers from A00003200 to A31108598 in the regular series and estimates a total of about 31.14 million notes. Replacement notes, which stand in for notes spoiled during printing, use a Z prefix and are far scarcer: serials from Z00000001 to Z00010536 have been recorded, with an estimate of about 10,800 in all. Treat these as estimates built from observed serial numbers, not official counts.

Which size of 500 Bolívares should you buy?

Planet Banknote lists the 500 Bolívares Digitales in four sizes, all uncirculated. The right one depends on what you are collecting.

One note

The note itself, for a type collection or as the next step after the 200.

Two notes

A pair, 1 billion bolívares on the old scale, for a matching set or a gift.

Ten notes

A lot of ten consecutive notes, for anyone who wants to see a serial run.

One hundred notes

A full pack of 100, bundled the way notes leave the printer. Our explainer on bank packs and consecutive runs shows what that means.

Frequently asked questions

What is the highest denomination Venezuelan banknote?

At the time of writing, the 500 Bolívares Digitales, which AFP called the new maximum denomination when the BCV announced it in August 2024. It sits above the 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 in the bolívar digital family.

How much is a 500 Bolívares note in US dollars?

When it was announced in August 2024, AFP put it at about US$13.60 at the official rate of roughly 37 bolívares per dollar. Exchange rates move, and that figure is a face value, not what collectors pay.

Is the 500 Bolívares note legal tender in Venezuela?

Yes. The Banco Central de Venezuela issues it for circulation in Venezuela, and AFP reported that it would enter circulation gradually.

What is the Pick number of the 500 Bolívares?

We list it as P-New because we have not found a confirmed Pick number for it. If you record it in a collection database, check the current Standard Catalog of World Paper Money first.

What does the Z prefix mean on a 500 Bolívares note?

Z marks a replacement note, one printed to stand in for a spoiled note. The Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela has recorded Z8 serials from Z00000001 to Z00010536, far fewer than the roughly 31 million notes estimated for the regular A8 series.

How many zeros are behind the 500 Bolívares?

Fourteen: three removed in 2008, five in 2018 and six in 2021. One 500 Bolívares note equals 50 quadrillion bolívares from before 2008.

Sources

• AFP via TVN-2: Venezuela lanza nuevos billetes y lleva máxima denominación a equivalente a $13,6
• Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela: 500 Bolívares, 2023
• Numismatic Catalog of Venezuela: 200 Bolívares, 2023
• Wikipedia: Venezuelan bolívar