Honduras P104b 50 Lempiras 2019 UNC—Gálvez—BCH Building—W104 B350b

A mid-denomination note from Honduras honoring the president who founded the country's national banking system — paired with the headquarters of the institution he helped create.

Front

• Colors: blue dominant on multicolor underprint
• Portrait: Juan Manuel Gálvez Durón (1887–1972), President of Honduras 1949–1954 and founder of the national banking system, at center-right
• Vignette: Headquarters of BANADESA (Banco Nacional de Desarrollo Agrícola) at right
• Registration device: Maya glyph at center
• Serial numbers: two black serial numbers; left serial in ascending size, printed vertically
• Text: REPÚBLICA DE HONDURAS / BANCO CENTRAL DE HONDURAS / JUAN MANUEL GÁLVEZ D., FUNDADOR DE LA BANCA NACIONAL / CINCUENTA LEMPIRAS
• Signatures: Wilfredo Cerrato R. (President) / Aracely O'Hara Guillén (Manager) / Rocío I. Tábora Morales (Finance Secretary) — TBB# B350b, dated 20 June 2019

Back

• Colors: blue tones; multicolor
• Central scene: Main building of the Central Bank of Honduras, Tegucigalpa
• Text: CINCUENTA LEMPIRAS / BANCO CENTRAL DE HONDURAS / EDIFICIO PRINCIPAL DEL BANCO CENTRAL DE HONDURAS
• Printer imprint: PWPW S.A. (note: this variety printed by Oberthur Fiduciaire, France)

Other Characteristics

• Catalog numbers: TBB# B350b; Numista N#215584
• Watermark: Juan Manuel Gálvez D. and 50
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 156 × 67 mm
• Issuing entity: Central Bank of Honduras (Banco Central de Honduras)
• Printer: Oberthur Fiduciaire, France (1984–date)
• Currency: Honduran Lempira (1931–date)

Juan Manuel Gálvez: The Banker-President

Juan Manuel Gálvez Durón (1887–1972) served as President of Honduras from 1949 to 1954 and is credited as the founder of Honduras's national banking infrastructure. During his presidency he established the Central Bank of Honduras (1950), the National Development Bank, and a series of agricultural credit institutions — laying the financial foundations of the modern Honduran state. A lawyer by training and a conservative by politics, Gálvez oversaw a period of relative stability and economic modernization, including major road construction and the expansion of the banana export economy.

The BCH Building on the Reverse

The reverse depicts the main headquarters of the Central Bank of Honduras in Tegucigalpa — the institution Gálvez himself founded in 1950. It is fitting that the man who created the bank appears on the note, and the bank's own building appears on the back. The Banco Central de Honduras is responsible for monetary policy, currency issuance, and financial stability — and has issued this very note series since 2016.

Own this note and you hold Honduras's financial founding in your hands — the president who built the banking system, and the building that still runs it today.

About Honduras

• Origin of name: Spanish for "depths" — Christopher Columbus reportedly exclaimed "Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas honduras" after navigating treacherous waters off the northern coast in 1502
• Capital: Tegucigalpa (city pop. ~1.4 million; metro ~1.9 million)
  • Origin of name of Tegucigalpa: From Nahuatl, variously interpreted as "silver hills" or "place of painted rocks" — a nod to the region's mineral wealth
• Population: ~10.6 million (UN 2024) — comparable to Michigan or Georgia
• Area: 112,492 km² / 43,433 mi² — slightly larger than Tennessee
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$6,800 (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: coffee (#1 export), bananas, palm oil, shrimp, textiles/apparel (maquiladoras)
• Borders: Guatemala (west), El Salvador (southwest), Nicaragua (east/southeast), Caribbean Sea (north), Pacific Ocean (south, Gulf of Fonseca)
• Official/spoken languages: Spanish (official); indigenous languages including Lenca, Garifuna, and Miskito
• Ethnicities: Mestizo (~90%), Indigenous (~7%), Garifuna (~2%), Afro-Honduran (~1%)
• Memberships: United Nations (1945); OAS; SICA; WTO; CAFTA-DR free trade agreement with US
• Sovereignty: Independent from Spain 15 September 1821; fully independent republic 1838 after dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America

Honduras Unfiltered

• Named after a warrior: Honduras is one of the only countries whose currency is named after a specific indigenous resistance fighter — Lempira, who died resisting Spanish colonization nearly 500 years ago.
• The Soccer War: In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought a four-day war triggered by a World Cup qualifying match — though the underlying cause was land disputes and migration tensions.
• Maya heartland: The ancient Copán ruins in western Honduras are one of the most important Maya archaeological sites in the world, renowned for their extraordinary sculptural detail and hieroglyphic stairway.
• Banana republic — literally: The term "banana republic" was coined partly with Honduras in mind, where United Fruit Company once controlled vast swaths of land, infrastructure, and political influence.
• Coffee powerhouse: Honduras is the largest coffee exporter in Central America and among the top 10 globally, with high-altitude growing regions producing specialty beans increasingly sought by third-wave roasters.