Catalog
10 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio printing on an orange underprint; the Colombian Coat of Arms is positioned at left, a central steam locomotive vignette occupies the body of the note, and a portrait of Francisco José de Caldas appears at right. The issuing bank name and payment obligation are inscribed across the face in period typography, with the date "BOGOTÁ, 1º DE MARZO DE 1881" at upper left. The American Bank Note Co. imprint appears at lower center. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BOGOTÁ, 1º DE MARZO DE 1881. EL BANCO NACIONAL DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE COLOMBIA PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR á la vista DIEZ PESOS en Moneda Corriente. American Bank Note Co. New York (Translation: Bogota, March 1st., 1881. The National Bank of The United States of Colombia Pay to Bearer at sight Ten Pesos in currency.) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia was established in 1880 as the country's first government-owned central bank, a deliberate move by the Núñez administration to wrest monetary control away from the private banks that had dominated Colombian finance since the 1860s. This note belongs to the bank's earliest emission, printed the following year by ABNC in New York — a common arrangement for Latin American issuers who lacked domestic intaglio capacity and needed the credibility of a recognized security printer to gain public acceptance.
The federal naming convention — "Estados Unidos de Colombia" — was already living on borrowed time. The 1886 constitution abolished the federal structure entirely, renaming the country the Republic of Colombia and dissolving the bank itself shortly after.