Catalog
10 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Colombia, Tesorería General |
|---|---|
| Year | 1896 |
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| Reference(s) | P#294A |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on white paper with a decorative border bearing the repeated legend VALE POR EXACCIONES EN LA GUERRA DE 1895 and SIN INTERES along the margins. At upper left, a classical allegorical vignette shows a seated female figure with a child and a palm frond; at lower left, a circular guilloche cartouche carries the numeral 10. The central text reads LA REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA followed by a manuscript-style passage acknowledging the bearer for DIEZ PESOS in war levies, with blanks for date and signatures of the Minister of Treasury and the Treasurer General. At lower right, an oval vignette with the Colombian coat of arms completes the design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA EL JEFE DE LA SECCIÓN 2ª LIT. DE PAREDES BOGOTÁ |
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| Comments |
The Tesorería General issues of the 1890s came out of a Colombian fiscal system under severe strain — the country was spending heavily on internal administration while silver depreciation gutted government revenues. These treasury notes were effectively forced currency, issued not by a bank but by the state's own cashiers, which made them difficult to refuse and nearly impossible to redeem with any reliability.
Litografía de Paredes was one of Bogotá's few domestic printing operations capable of producing circulating currency at the time. Local production meant the notes lacked the security features available from European firms, and counterfeiting was a persistent complaint throughout the series.