Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco Occidental |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893-1917 |
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| Value | 10 Pesos |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central vignette of a steam locomotive in left profile, set within an oval frame with fine guilloche borderwork. The denomination numeral "10" appears at lower left and right corners, with the bank title "BANCO OCCIDENTAL" arched across the upper portion and the place of issue "Salvador" incorporated in the text. A promise-to-pay legend in Spanish occupies the lower central area, accompanied by manuscript signatures and a printed date of Diciembre 1917. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO OCCIDENTAL Pagará a la vista al portador DIEZ PESOS en moneda efectiva Salvador, Diciembre 1917 10 DIEZ 10 |
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| Comments |
Banco Occidental was one of several regional Colombian banks operating under the 1880 banking legislation that briefly allowed private institutions to issue their own currency. The New York-printed plates from the American Bank Note Company were standard practice for Colombian private banks of this period — ABNC supplied engraved work to a dozen or more such institutions simultaneously, which means the printing quality on this note is considerably higher than the issuing bank's actual financial standing might suggest.
The series span of 1893–1917 is unusually long. Most Colombian private banks were forced to surrender their note-issuing privileges after the Reyes administration centralized monetary control around 1905, so any dates after that point warrant scrutiny — late-dated examples may reflect authorized holdover circulation rather than fresh issue.