Catalog
10 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Colombia / Tesorería General |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
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| Reference(s) | P#293A |
| Obverse description | Salmon-tinted bond note with the heading 'BONO COLOMBIANO' in bold ornate lettering across the top, flanked by decorative scrollwork and a 'SIN INTERÉS' banner at left. A vignette of a dog's head is positioned in the upper right corner, while a large guilloche rosette bearing the numeral '10' occupies the lower left. The central text acknowledges the bearer for the sum of ten pesos, issued under Ley 95 of 1888, with signature lines for the Minister and the Tesorero General, and the imprint 'VILLAVECES-BOGOTÁ' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BONO COLOMBIANO SIN INTERÉS LA REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA RECONOCE A FAVOR DEL PORTADOR LA SUMA DE DIEZ PESOS SIN INTERÉS PROCEDENTE DE LAS ÓRDENES DE PAGO EMITIDAS POR EMPRÉSTITOS SUMINISTROS Y EXPROPIACIONES CONFORME A LA LEY 95 DE 1888. Bogotá, de 18 EL MINISTRO DEL TESORO: EL TESORERO GENERAL: POR $10 VILLAVECES-BOGOTÁ |
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| Comments |
The Tesorería General notes of 1888 were fiscal instruments issued directly by the Colombian state treasury rather than through a chartered bank — a reflection of the chronic banking instability that plagued Colombia throughout the 1880s, when private banks repeatedly failed to maintain convertibility. Villaveces was one of the few domestic printers capable of producing currency-grade work in Bogotá at the time, though their output rarely matched the technical quality of European contract printers.
Colombia's monetary situation in 1888 was further complicated by the lead-up to the Regeneration government's decision to establish the Banco Nacional as a monopoly issuer — a move that effectively made treasury notes like this one transitional artifacts, issued in the gap between failed free banking and centralized state control.