Catalog
5 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Sopetrán |
|---|---|
| Year | 1880 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Bicolour note printed in green and black with an ornate engraved border of fine guilloche work. The left panel carries an intaglio vignette of a standing classical female figure holding a shepherd's crook, within a vertical cartouche inscribed CINCO, while the right panel bears an oval vignette of a spaniel's head above the numeral 5. The central field displays the bank title EL BANCO DE SOPETRÁN in bold letterpress above the promise text, place name, manuscript date and signature lines for El Gerente, El Contador, and El Cajero, with a perforated SPECIMEN cancellation struck across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO DE SOPETRÁN Pagará al portador y á la vista la cantidad de CINCO PESOS de ley en monedas corrientes Sopetrán, de de 18 EL GERENTE EL CONTADOR EL CAJERO CINCO 5 |
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| Comments |
Banco de Sopetrán was a short-lived regional bank operating out of the municipality of Sopetrán in Antioquia, Colombia — one of dozens of private banks that emerged following Colombia's 1865 banking legislation, which allowed provincial commercial houses to issue their own currency. De La Rue's involvement is unsurprising; the London firm handled a substantial portion of Colombian provincial bank printing during this period, supplying engraved notes to institutions that lacked any domestic printing infrastructure of comparable quality.
The bank's operational lifespan was brief, and note survival rates from Antioqueño private banks of this era are generally low. Colombia's 1886 constitutional reorganization and the subsequent push toward centralized currency effectively killed the free banking period within a few years of this note's issue.