Hispanic Heritage Month Country Highlight | Nicaragua

In this blog, we focus on Nicaragua which declared its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821, along with most of Central American countries. Nicaragua did not become truly independent until 1838. However, it was plagued with division and civil war until 1857. Also an interesting fact is that there was even a short time when an American became president of Nicaragua. His name was William Walker.

Nicaragua Banknote History

Beginning in 1880, Nicaragua banks began issuing Nicaragua centavo and peso banknotes. The US printed most of these banknotes. As a result they followed similar designs to the US banknotes of the time. The 1894 – 5 Peso (P-25) is a good example. The front has a portrait and country flags printed in black. There is a red over stamp. The back has exceptional details. Printed in the green, commonly associated with US ‘greenbacks’, in addition there are many security print designs surrounding Nicaraguan flags. It is a very nice example of the time.

Nicaragua has never truly had a long period of peace. The United States has been involved in Nicaragua probably more than any other country in Central America. The US even maintained an occupation force from 1909 to 1933 to support the local government and maintain free trade. In 1910 the banknote designs changed significantly as Nicaragua replaced the peso with the Cordoba (but kept the small denominations as centavos). They also pegged the exchange rate to the US dollar. The currency takes its name from Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. Cordoba led the first European expedition to Nicaragua. Interestingly, in 1912 Christopher Columbus was present on the Centavo banknotes. 

Changes Throughout the Years

For more than 50 years, Nicaragua was led my military dictatorships under the Samoza family, and then replaced by the Sandinistas in 1990. For much of the 20^th century, their banknotes changed frequently due to significant inflation and political changes. In addition, when the Sandinista party won control of Nicaragua, it issued the 3^rd Cordoba series in 1991.  The theme focuses on the historical people and landmarks. The 4^th series issued in 2009 began Nicaragua’s transition to polymer banknotes.

Nicaragua has issued 3 commemorative notes that are very interesting:

• 2010 – 50 Cordoba commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Central Bank of Nicaragua
• 2012 – 100 Cordoba commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the Cordoba
• 2016 – 1000 Cordoba celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the death of Ruben Dario, a famous and influential Nicaraguan poet.

The 2016 – 1,000 Cordoba is especially interesting. For example it has a very detailed and lifelike portrait of Dario and includes a color shifting feature of a scroll and quill. Also the green ink is present over a background of a large flower printed in muted colors. This piece should be a great addition to any collection.