Catalog
1 Peso
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black lithographic print on green guilloche underprint. The Colombian national coat of arms is set within a large circular guilloche vignette at upper center, flanked by two oval numeral panels each reading '1 PESO' at left and right. The issuer's name and promise-to-pay text are laid out across the lower half in bold letterpress, with three manuscript signatures across the bottom margin above the printer's imprint, and the series letter and serial number appearing at upper left and upper right respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL BOGOTÁ EL CAJERO: (Translation: National Bank Bogotá The Cashier:) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia was established by law in 1880 as the government's fiscal agent, with a legal monopoly on note issue — a arrangement that immediately put it in conflict with the private banks that had been circulating their own paper freely. This 1 Peso belongs to the period of acute political tension that preceded the Thousand Days War, when currency confidence was already eroding and forced acceptance laws were being tested in the courts.
Litografía D. Paredes was a Bogotá commercial printer, not a specialist banknote firm. The use of a local lithographer rather than a European security printer reflects both economic constraint and the chronic difficulty of importing printed materials during this period.