Catalog
25 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Agrícola Comercial |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Colón (1919-2001) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in dark blue on a fine guilloche underprint, the reverse carries a central circular vignette with a portrait of Christopher Columbus, surrounded by the bank's circular legend BANCO AGRÍCOLA COMERCIAL. The El Salvador national coat of arms appears to the left, with the denomination numeral 25 in each corner. A large handstamped cancellation reading RAZON TOMADA is applied diagonally across the face, accompanied by a manuscript date and initials. |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO AGRÍCOLA COMERCIAL RAZON TOMADA 25 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Banco Agrícola Comercial was El Salvador's first private bank, established in 1895, and by 1922 it was operating alongside a clutch of competing issuing institutions before the state eventually monopolized currency issuance with the creation of Banco Central de Reserva in 1934. This note predates that consolidation by over a decade — a period when Salvadoran private banks printed their own currency through American Bank Note Company with the same production quality reserved for sovereign issuers.
The 25 colones denomination was never a workhorse note. At that value in early 1920s El Salvador, it represented serious purchasing power, which kept it largely out of everyday hands and likely contributed to low survival rates among circulated examples.