25 Pesos

The Banco Nacional de la República de Colombia was a state-controlled institution created in 1881 under the Núñez administration to give the national government direct control over currency emission — a move that provoked sustained opposition from private banks and Liberal political factions alike. By 1895 the bank was issuing notes under conditions of chronic fiscal stress, with successive administrations drawing on its printing privileges to cover deficits rather than maintain any credible metallic backing.

Franklin-Lee Bank Note Company, a smaller New York firm working in the shadow of the dominant American Bank Note Company, handled this series. Their contracts with Latin American clients during the 1890s were often picked up precisely when larger printers were occupied or expensive.