Catalog
20 Pesos Oro
| Issuer | Banco de la República |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1963 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Purple and multicolour note with an intaglio-printed portrait vignette of Francisco José de Caldas at left and a portrait vignette of Simón Bolívar at right, set against a fine guilloche underprint. The issuing authority and denomination inscriptions are arranged along the upper and lower margins, with the place of issue and date appearing centrally below the main design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in dark purple on a fine guilloche background, the reverse centres on a circular vignette of a classical female bust representing Liberty, surrounded by an ornate lathework border inscribed with the bank name and place of issue. Numeral counters reading '20' appear at left and right within elaborate rosette panels, and the denomination legend 'VEINTE PESOS ORO' is set in a straight band along the lower portion of the design. The printer's imprint appears in small type at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
The Banco de la República's long-running 20 Pesos Oro series, printed by ABNCo over two decades, reflects a period of relative monetary stability in Colombia — unusual for mid-century Latin America. The twenty-year print window meant successive dates on essentially the same plate design, with only minor typographic revisions across the run.
ABNCo's New York intaglio work on Colombian issues from this period is consistently fine, and the 20 Pesos denomination was the workhorse of commercial transactions throughout the 1950s coffee boom.