Catalog
1 Peso
| Issuer | Banco Popular |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse centres on a rectangular vignette of an agricultural scene with an ox-drawn plow and a farmer at work, flanked by large ornate guilloche rosettes each bearing the numeral '1' and the legend 'UNO'. The issuer's name 'BANCO POPULAR' runs in bold letterpress across the centre, below which a handwritten-style promise reads 'pagará al portador á la vista UN PESO, en Moneda Corriente', dated 'Bogotá, Julio 26 de 1877', with 'SERIE B' at upper left and a serial number at upper right. Signature lines for 'El Gerente' and 'El Presidente del Consejo' appear at the lower margin, with repeated 'UN PESO' panel borders framing the design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries a large red-brown manuscript-style overprint of 'UNO' across the entire face, superimposed over a printed text block authorising provisional circulation of this note as a Banco Nacional issue in accordance with Decreto Número 5° of 29 October 1899, dated 'Bogotá, Octubre 30 de 1899'. Multiple handwritten signatures of the Junta de Emisión members appear below the decree text, with the caption 'MIEMBROS DE LA JUNTA DE EMISION' printed at the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Banco Popular was one of several private Colombian banks chartered under the 1871 banking law, which deliberately kept note-issuing rights fragmented among regional institutions rather than centralizing them in a single national bank. The result was a crowded, competitive market for private paper money throughout the 1870s, with each bank responsible for maintaining its own redemption in specie.
Paredes & Co. was among the more capable domestic lithographers working in Bogotá at the time, though Colombian-printed notes from this period rarely match the engraving depth of contemporaneous European-printed issues from the region. The 1877 date places this note close to the monetary disruptions preceding Colombia's 1880 establishment of the Banco Nacional.