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1 Peso
| Issuer | Banco de Bogotá |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by the bold serif title BANCO DE BOGOTÁ across the upper centre, flanked by two large numeral 1 medallions in each corner set within intricate lathe-work frames. A central vignette presents an allegorical reclining female figure beside a locomotive, executed in fine intaglio engraving. The body of the note carries the handwritten promise-to-pay text in Spanish, with the date Bogotá 1 Mayo de 1873, serial number in two positions, and three signature lines for El Director 2°, El Director Gerente, and El Director 3°, with a red wax or embossed seal at centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is covered entirely by a dense, symmetrical guilloche underprint in olive and brown tones, with two large circular lathe-work rosettes at left and right enclosing the numeral 1, linked by a horizontal band of intricate engine-turned ornamental work. A central oval panel carries manuscript signatures above the printed legend MIEMBROS DE LA JUNTA and EL CAJERO. An overprint text across the upper portion reads: ESTE BILLETE CIRCULA PROVISIONALMENTE COMO BILLETE DEL BANCO NACIONAL DE ACUERDO CON EL DECRETO N° 517 DE 20 DE OCTUBRE DE 1886. |
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| Comments |
Banco de Bogotá was the first private commercial bank established in Colombia, founded in 1870 under legislation that briefly opened the country to free banking. This note predates the Banco Nacional and the era of centralized Colombian currency by nearly a decade — private banks like Bogotá issued their own circulating notes under concession, competing directly with one another in a fragmented monetary environment that lasted until the 1880s reforms.
The American Bank Note Company plate work for Colombian private bank issues of this period is generally fine, and the Bogotá series is no exception. Cotton substrate on early ABNCo Colombian provincials tends to yellow unevenly along fold lines.