VENEZUELA. Banco Central De Venezuela. 50 Bolivares, 1953. P-40. Rosenman 173. PMG Very Fine 25. Printed by TDLR. This is the plate note for the book <em>Billetes de Venezuela</em> by Richard Rosenman. The 1953 TDLR series is often referred to as the "Bolivar Orejon" (Bolivar of the big ears) series because of the redesigned portrait of Simon Bolivar. Venezuela decided to switch from ABNC to TDLR for the 1953 series, with TDLR keeping some of the same motifs as their predecessor, while also making some of their own stylistic changes. This big change came to Bolivars portrait (ABNC had used the same portrait design since 1862 on Colombia P-75, so holders of currency had been used to seeing the design for nearly a century). Bolivars hair, forehead, chin and ears were changed by TDLR, and this was something that was controversial to Venezuelans, referring to the design as "Bolivar feo" (the ugly Bolivar). TDLR quickly pulled the series after facing controversy, leaving collectors with few pieces to acquire today. From the Rosenman Collection.
