Bolivia P248 B417 10 bolivianos 1986 UNC—World's Largest Salt Flats: Salar de Uyuni

A vivid blue Bolivian note honoring three heroes of resistance — José Santos Vargas, Apiaguaiki Túpa, and Eustaquio Méndez — alongside the subterranean wonder of Caverna de Umajalanta, and on the reverse, the otherworldly expanse of the Salar de Uyuni with its giant hummingbird and towering Puya Raimondi cactus.

Front

• Color: Blue and black on multicolor
• Portraits: José Santos Vargas (“El Tambor Vargas”), Apiaguaiki Túpa, and Eustaquio Méndez (“El Moto Méndez”) at right
• Umajalanta Cave: Caverna de Umajalanta in Torotoro at center
• Signatures: President a.i. BCB and General Manager a.i. BCB (varies by variety — see below)

Back

• Color: Multicolor
• Isla del Pescado: Isla del Pescado rising from the Salar de Uyuni at center
• Puya Raimondi: Puya Raimondi — the largest bromeliad on Earth, blooming once after 80–100 years
• Giant hummingbird: Picaflor gigante (southern giant hummingbird) — the world’s largest hummingbird species
• Printer: Oberthur Fiduciaire (Series A) / Crane Currency, Malta (Series B)

Other Characteristics

• Varieties: You may receive any variety:
  • TBB B417a (2019) — signatures Pablo Ramos Sánchez & Carlos Alberto Colodro López; Oberthur Fiduciaire; ~81% of population
  • TBB B417a (2024) — signatures Roger Edwin Rojas Ulo & Rubén Gonzalo Ticona Chique; Oberthur Fiduciaire; 79,300,000 printed; ~9% of population
  • TBB B417b (2025) — Series B; Crane Currency, Malta; improved security strip and intaglio reverse;
• Catalog numbers: TBB B417a; Numista N#203878
• Watermark: Portrait and electrotype 10
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 140 × 70 mm
• Issuing entity: Central Bank of Bolivia (Banco Central de Bolivia)
• Printer: Oberthur Fiduciaire, France (Series A); Crane Currency, Malta (Series B)
• Demonetized: No — current legal tender
• Currency: Second boliviano (1986–date)

José Santos Vargas: The Drummer Who Wrote It All Down

José Santos Vargas (1796–1853), known as “El Tambor Vargas” (The Drummer Vargas), was a guerrilla fighter in the Bolivian wars of independence who became one of the most important chroniclers of that conflict. He joined the patriot forces as a young man, serving as a drummer — the battlefield communicator of his era — and fought in the republiquetas, the guerrilla resistance zones that kept the independence movement alive in Upper Peru. What makes him extraordinary is that he kept a detailed diary of the war, written in a vivid, firsthand style that historians now consider one of the most valuable primary sources on the Bolivian independence struggle. A soldier who was also a writer: the drum and the pen.

Apiaguaiki Túpa: The Last Guaraní Warrior

Apiaguaiki Túpa (died 1892) was the leader of the last major Guaraní uprising against Bolivian state authority — the Battle of Kuruyuki in 1892, in which Guaraní warriors armed largely with bows and arrows faced Bolivian army rifles. The result was a massacre: hundreds of Guaraní were killed, and the survivors were enslaved on haciendas in conditions that persisted well into the 20th century. Túpa was captured and executed. He is remembered today as a martyr of indigenous resistance and a symbol of the Guaraní people’s refusal to submit — and his inclusion on this note reflects Bolivia’s constitutional recognition of its indigenous nations under the 2009 Plurinational constitution.

Eustaquio Méndez: The One-Handed Guerrilla of Tarija

Eustaquio Méndez (1784–1849), known as “El Moto Méndez” — “moto” meaning one-handed or maimed — was a guerrilla commander from the Tarija region who became one of the most celebrated popular heroes of Bolivian independence. Despite losing a hand (accounts vary on how), he led highly effective mobile guerrilla operations against royalist forces in the southern valleys, earning a reputation for audacity and tactical brilliance. He fought alongside the formal independence armies and was present at key engagements in the final campaigns. His nickname, worn as a badge of honor, captures the spirit of a man who let nothing stop him.

Caverna de Umajalanta: Bolivia’s Underground Sea

The Caverna de Umajalanta, depicted at the center of the obverse, is one of the most spectacular cave systems in South America, located in the Torotoro National Park in Potosí department. The cave extends for kilometers underground and contains an extraordinary feature: a subterranean lake inhabited by a blind, cave-adapted species of catfish (Trichomycterus chaberti) found nowhere else on Earth. The name Umajalanta means “water that goes down” in Quechua. Torotoro itself is also famous for its dinosaur footprints — some of the best-preserved in South America — making the park a place where deep geological time and living biodiversity overlap in remarkable ways.

Salar de Uyuni: The World’s Largest Mirror

The Salar de Uyuni on the reverse is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 km² — so vast and so flat that it is used to calibrate the altimeters of orbiting satellites. During the rainy season, a thin layer of water transforms it into the world’s largest natural mirror, reflecting the sky with perfect fidelity. Rising from its center is Isla del Pescado (Fish Island), a rocky outcrop covered in giant Puya Raimondi cacti — the largest bromeliad on Earth, which grows for 80 to 100 years before producing a single towering flower spike up to 10 meters tall, then dies. The giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) alongside it is the largest hummingbird species in the world — still improbably small compared to the landscape it inhabits. Beneath the Salar lies the world’s largest known lithium reserve, making this salt flat one of the most strategically important pieces of ground on the planet.

About Bolivia

• Origin of name: Named after Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan general who liberated much of South America from Spanish rule; Bolivia declared independence in 1825
• Capital: Sucre (constitutional capital) and La Paz (seat of government) — one of the few countries with two capitals
  • Origin of name (Sucre): Named after Antonio José de Sucre, the general who won Bolivia’s decisive independence battle at Ayacucho in 1824
• Population: ~12.3 million (UN 2023) — similar to Pennsylvania or Belgium
• Area: 1,098,581 km² (424,164 mi²) — similar to Texas and California combined, or France and Spain combined
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$10,500 (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: Natural gas, zinc, gold, silver, soybeans, quinoa, lithium
• Borders: Peru and Chile (west); Argentina and Paraguay (south); Brazil (north and east) — landlocked since 1884
• Official/spoken languages: Spanish plus 36 indigenous languages including Quechua, Aymara, and Guaraní — all constitutionally recognized
• Ethnicities: Indigenous (~41%); Mestizo (~31%); White (~15%); others
• Memberships: United Nations (1945); OAS; CELAC; UNASUR
• Sovereignty: Part of the Inca Empire until Spanish conquest (1530s); colonial rule as Upper Peru until independence declared August 6, 1825; renamed Plurinational State of Bolivia under the 2009 constitution

Bolivia Unfiltered

• Landlocked and bitter about it: Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) and has been landlocked ever since; it maintains a navy on Lake Titicaca and the Amazon river system, and “Day of the Sea” is a national holiday of mourning
• Lithium superpower: Bolivia sits atop the world’s largest lithium reserves — beneath the Salar de Uyuni — making it a pivotal player in the global electric vehicle revolution
• Highest capital city: La Paz, at ~3,650 meters above sea level, is the highest seat of government in the world; visitors often experience altitude sickness just walking from the airport
• 36 official languages: Bolivia’s 2009 constitution recognizes 36 indigenous languages alongside Spanish — the most of any country in the world
• Coup capital: Bolivia has experienced over 190 coups or coup attempts since independence in 1825 — more than any other country in the world
• Dinosaur footprints: The Torotoro region depicted on this note contains some of the best-preserved dinosaur tracks in South America, alongside the cave system shown on the note

Own this note and hold Bolivia’s soul in your hands — a one-handed guerrilla, a Guaraní warrior who refused to surrender, a drummer who wrote history while making it, and a salt flat so vast it calibrates satellites. A 10-boliviano note that earns its place in any serious collection.