100 Gems - May birthstone emerald

Colombia issued this note as part of the Banco de la República's "100 Gems" commemorative polymer series, with each denomination tied to a specific birthstone month. The emerald assignment to May was not arbitrary — Colombia accounts for roughly 70 to 90 percent of global emerald production, and the Muzo and Chivor mines in Boyacá have been the primary source since pre-Columbian times. Spanish colonial extraction was so aggressive that the Spanish Crown imposed direct royal control over the Muzo mines as early as 1592.

The series was printed by De La Rue on polymer substrate, making it one of the more technically ambitious commemorative programs issued in the region in recent years.