2 Pesos

The Banco Nacional de la República de Colombia had a troubled final decade. Founded in 1881 under Rafael Núñez's economic reforms, the bank held a monopoly on note issue — a politically contentious arrangement that collapsed under the weight of war finance. By 1899, the bank was printing heavily to fund government operations, and the Thousand Days' War, which broke out that same year, accelerated an inflationary spiral that rendered low denominations like this one nearly worthless within a few years.

Printing in Colombia rather than contracting a European security printer was itself a cost-cutting decision, and the domestic production quality reflects that. The bank was formally liquidated in 1904.