20 Centavos

The Banco Nacional de la República de Colombia had a turbulent final chapter. The bank was formally liquidated in 1894 following years of controversy over its monopoly on note issue and chronic over-emission — yet notes continued to circulate under emergency provisions during the Thousand Days War (1899–1902), one of the deadliest civil conflicts in Colombian history. This 20 Centavos piece falls squarely in that period of fiscal desperation, when fractional notes flooded the market as metallic coin disappeared from circulation entirely.

Counterfeiting of low-denomination fractional paper was rampant during this war, and surviving genuine examples are sometimes difficult to authenticate without reference to known plate characteristics.