Catalog
100 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1954 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Colón (1892-date) |
| 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 | Central vignette shows the Monumento a la Independencia (Independence Monument) in intaglio engraving, set within an ornate scrollwork frame flanked by two large guilloche rosettes bearing the numeral 100. The bank title arcs diagonally across the upper portion of the note, with the denomination in large letterpress numerals at left and right and in words along the lower centre. Three manuscript signatures appear at the bottom, identified as Director, Presidente, and Cajero, with the date and place of issue printed to the lower left and right respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central portrait vignette in intaglio presents a left-facing bust of Christopher Columbus within a circular guilloche border, set against an olive-green underprint with repeating lathe-work rosettes bearing the numeral 100 at all four corners. The bank title is lettered in bold serif type across the top, and the place and date of issue are printed along the lower centre. A black embossed control stamp of the Junta de Vigilancia de Bancos S.S. appears to the left of the central vignette. |
| 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 |
The Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador was established in 1934 under a reform pushed heavily by U.S. financial advisors — part of a broader Depression-era reorganization of Central American monetary systems. ABNC held the printing contract through most of the institution's early decades, and this high-denomination 100 Colones note from the 1942–1954 window would have circulated almost exclusively in commercial and interbank transactions. Ordinary wages in El Salvador at the time rarely approached even a fraction of its face value.
The twelve-year date span reflects reissues with incremental changes — serial prefix blocks and signature combinations are the primary tools for narrowing individual examples to specific years within the series.