The New 10,000 Guaraníes Banknote of Paraguay 2026 (Rodríguez de Francia, Carlos Antonio López, and the Maned Wolf). Ibero-American Banknotes

Of the six banknotes in the new guaraní family presented by the Central Bank of Paraguay on October 5, 2026, the 10,000 guaraníes note is the one that changes the most. It not only debuts a new design, portraits, and reverse: it changes material. It moves away from cotton and shifts to polymer, becoming the first 10,000 guaraníes note printed on plastic in the country's history. For a collector, this substrate transition is exactly the kind of milestone that turns a current issue into a benchmark piece.

The banknote is not yet in circulation: the designs were presented on October 5, and the printing has yet to be awarded. It is not, therefore, for sale, but you can reserve it: write to us via email or WhatsApp and we will set one aside for you in uncirculated condition as soon as the BCP puts it into circulation and we are able to obtain it.

Why the 10,000 is moving to polymer

Until now, Paraguay printed only its two lowest denominations, the 2,000 and 5,000 guaraníes, on polymer. The logic is simple and applied by central banks around the world: small banknotes rotate more, are handled more, and are destroyed sooner, so the extra cost of polymer is more than offset by its useful life.

With the accumulated inflation of eight decades—the guaraní has never removed zeros—the 10,000 has become a daily-use banknote, not a store of value. The BCP has transferred that reality to the design and incorporated it into the polymer group. The three high denominations of the family—20,000, 50,000, and 100,000—continue to be printed on cotton.

The complete redesign of the family, the first in over sixty years, was awarded in February 2023 to the French firm Oberthur Fiduciaire and was developed over three years with the advice of historians and biologists.

The honorees: Rodríguez de Francia and Carlos Antonio López

The obverse of the 10,000 brings together the two men who built the Paraguayan State, and having them coexist on the same banknote is a deliberate decision.

José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (1766-1840), El Supremo, was the man who led Paraguay's independence and ruled the country dictatorially for nearly three decades, with a policy of radical isolation that, depending on how you look at it, either preserved the young country's sovereignty or froze it. He is, without question, the founding figure of the republic.

Carlos Antonio López (1792-1862) was the one who opened what Francia had closed: the first constitutional president of Paraguay, he modernized the country with a railway, telegraph, iron foundry, and shipyard, opened the rivers to trade, and sent young people to be educated in Europe. Father of Francisco Solano López, the protagonist of the 20,000 banknote of this same family.

Together they summarize the half-century that spans from independence to modern Paraguay before the Triple Alliance War.

The design of the 10,000 guaraníes banknote

Obverse (dominant orange/brown color):

• Portraits of Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia and Carlos Antonio López, in intaglio printing.
• BANCO CENTRAL DEL PARAGUAY legend at the header.
• Value 10MIL in prominent numeral and DIEZ MIL GUARANÍES in text.
• Colored transparent element with a quadrangular geometric motif in green and gold tones.
• Transparent window of the polymer with the figure of the maned wolf and colored leaves.
• Institutional seals and year of issue.

Reverse (same orange range):

• AMAMBAY ECOREGION label.
• A maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) as the featured species, the long-legged canid that roams South American grasslands and one of the most charismatic and threatened species in the Southern Cone.
• Grassland vegetation and a flower integrated into a violet colored transparent element.
• Value 10MIL and PA SU GUARANÍ, the denomination in the Guaraní language, along with REPÚBLICA DEL PARAGUAY.
• Silhouette of the map of Paraguay with the ecoregion marked.

The Amambay ecoregion, in the northeast of the country next to the border with Brazil, combines cerrado, grasslands, and mountain forests: a mosaic of habitats where the maned wolf finds the open terrain it needs.

Security features

By debuting a new substrate, the 10,000 also introduces the polymer security repertoire:

• Transparent window with an integrated figure of the maned wolf—a new element for this denomination.
• Color-changing elements on the obverse and reverse, with a geometric and floral motif.
• Relief printing on portraits, texts, and tactile marks.
• Tactile marks and large high-contrast numerals for the visually impaired.
• Microprinting with themes of Paraguayan identity.
• Differentiated format: about 7 mm longer than the 5,000 note and 7 mm shorter than the 20,000 note.

It is worth remembering that, upon moving to polymer, this banknote no longer has a traditional watermark: plastic does not support it, and its function is fulfilled by the transparent window and optical elements.

Technical specifications

• Issuer: Banco Central del Paraguay (BCP).
• Denomination: 10,000 guaraníes.
• Design presentation: October 5, 2026.
• Substrate: polymer — change from the previous series, which was cotton.
• Dominant color: orange / brown.
• Obverse: José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia and Carlos Antonio López.
• Reverse: Amambay Ecoregion, with the maned wolf.
• Format: width common to the family, third in length from smallest to largest.
• Design and origination: Oberthur Fiduciaire (France).
• Printer: not confirmed; printing will be awarded via international tender.
• Print run and serial prefixes: not announced. The presentation images show a sample numbering with prefix A (A00000001), typical of a specimen.
• Date of circulation: not confirmed (press estimates between the first quarter of 2027 and 2028).

Numismatic and collector value

• It is the transition banknote of the family. The change from cotton to polymer makes this 10,000 a first-time piece: the first plastic 10,000 guaraníes in Paraguayan history.
• Two foundational figures on a single banknote. Rodríguez de Francia and Carlos Antonio López rarely share a medium; here, half a century of national history is condensed.
• The maned wolf is a strong thematic draw. The threatened fauna collection is one of the most active, and the maned wolf appears on very few banknotes in the world.
• Daily-use value. As it is a denomination in intense circulation, uncirculated examples will be proportionally scarcer over time.
• It carries its predecessor with it. The outgoing cotton 10,000 is automatically turned into the last of its lineage, which usually translates into the appreciation of uncirculated examples.

Why is it important for collectors?

• First 10,000 guaraníes banknote printed on polymer.
• Two founding fathers of the Paraguayan State on the same obverse.
• Reverse with the maned wolf and the Amambay ecoregion.
• New generation transparent window and optical elements.
• Part of the first comprehensive redesign of the guaraní in over sixty years.

Why reserve at Iberoamericana Banknotes

• Guaranteed authenticity with individual verification.
• Priority by order of reservation when stock arrives.
• Complete series of all six denominations, in addition to sales by denomination.
• International shipping with tracking and protective packaging.
• Specialized service from collectors for collectors.
• Article updated as the BCP confirms date, printer, and print run.

Reserve it now

If you want the new 2026 Paraguay 10,000 guaraníes banknote—the first of its value in polymer—in uncirculated condition, write to us via email or WhatsApp and we will include you on the reservation list.

The full overview is available in The new 2026 Paraguay guaraní banknotes. And the historical account continues on the 2026 20,000 guaraníes banknote, with Francisco Solano López, son of Carlos Antonio López, as the protagonist.

Our Paraguay banknotes section is available by clicking here.