Catalog
100 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Oriente |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in purple on pale paper, with a central oval vignette of a landscape scene flanked by two oval guilloche medallions bearing the numeral '100'. The upper portion carries the bank title 'BANCO DE ORIENTE' in bold lettering, with series and number designations at left and right respectively. The bearer clause 'EL BANCO DE ORIENTE PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR Y A LA VISTA CIEN PESOS DE LEY, EN MONEDAS CORRIENTES' is printed across the centre, with the place and date 'RIONEGRO' at the foot above three manuscript signatures. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in purple, dominated by a central interlocking oval guilloche design incorporating the inscriptions 'BANCO', 'DE', and 'ORIENTE' with the denomination numeral '100' repeated on each side. A rectangular stamp reading 'BANCO DE ORIENTE' appears at upper left, and a circular violet administrative handstamp, referencing the Dirección General del Tesoro of Medellín, is visible at upper right. Vertical text reading 'ORIENTE' appears along the right margin. |
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| Comments |
Banco de Oriente was one of several regional Colombian banks chartered under the 1880 banking law, which allowed provincial institutions to issue their own notes — a decentralized arrangement that lasted until the Banco de la República absorbed domestic note-issuing authority in the early twentieth century. The bank operated out of Bucaramanga, capital of Santander department, serving the commercial needs of a region whose economy ran heavily on coffee and tobacco exports through the Magdalena River corridor.
At the 100 Peso denomination, this note would have represented serious purchasing power in 1883 provincial Colombia. High-value regionals from this period survived in tiny numbers; most circulated hard and were redeemed or destroyed when the issuing bank collapsed or was wound down.