Catalog
2 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de la Unión |
|---|---|
| Year | 1886-1889 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of an eagle perched on a branch, flanked by two large numeral '2' counters within ornate shield cartouches. The bank title 'EL BANCO DE LA UNION' arcs across the top in bold letterpress, with 'COSTA RICA' at the upper border. Lower register carries the payable clause and denomination 'DOS PESOS' over a large guilloche underprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO DE LA UNION COSTA RICA DOS PAGARA AL PORTADOR la cantidad de DOS PESOS en moneda acuñada San José, EL PRESIDENTE DE LA DIRECCION EL ADMINISTRADOR DOS PESOS |
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| Comments |
Banco de la Unión was one of the private commercial banks operating in Colombia under the free banking legislation of 1880, which allowed chartered banks to issue their own circulating notes. The arrangement lasted barely a decade — the Banco Nacional progressively squeezed out private issuers through the late 1880s and 1890s, and most of the Unión's notes were retired well before the bank itself ceased operations.
The American Bank Note Company produced this series from its New York shops, as it did for the majority of Colombian private bank issues of the period. ABNC's work for South American clients during this window was prolific enough that distinguishing one institution's plates from another requires close attention to serial typography and border details.