Catalog
100 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Colombia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Orange and black intaglio-printed note with a central vignette of Columbus and companions on shore, a sailing vessel in the background. The bank title EL BANCO DE COLOMBIA arcs across the top in bold letterpress; denomination numerals 100 appear in ornate panels at left and right. Date DICIEMBRE 15 DE 1881 and place BOGOTA appear in the lower text area with three signature lines below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Uniformly printed in orange, the reverse is dominated by an intricate guilloche latticework pattern filling the central panel, with the denomination 100 in large numerals at each corner and at top and bottom. The legend EL CAJERO appears within the central guilloche frame, flanked by ornamental rosette motifs. The printer's imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK is visible at the top and bottom margins. |
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| Comments |
Banco de Colombia was a private commercial bank chartered in Bogotá in 1875, one of several institutions authorized to issue currency under Colombia's free banking period — a deliberately decentralized monetary arrangement that lasted until the founding of the Banco de la República in 1923. The American Bank Note Company contract for this series was entirely typical of the period; Colombian private banks routinely commissioned ABNC for prestige engraving, partly for security reasons and partly because locally printed notes were viewed with suspicion in commercial circles.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference indicates provisional or private bank classification, not a specimen designation. Surviving circulated examples from this 1881 issue are uncommon — the denomination was high enough that notes saw relatively limited daily turnover and were more likely to be held, redeemed, or cancelled than worn to rags.