Catalog
5 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de la Unión |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S861 |
| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper with the large bold title EL BANCO DE LA UNIÓN arching across the upper centre, flanked by two classical allegorical female vignettes — one seated with a globe at left, the other with agricultural implements at right. A central cherub vignette occupies the middle ground beneath the bank name, with the numeral 5 in ornate panels at lower left and lower right. The imprint of Palau, Corrales & Compª appears at top centre, the place and date Bogotá, Enero 1º de 1883 is inscribed above the central vignette, and the legend Pagará al portador á la vista en moneda legal corriente runs across the lower portion; SPECIMEN overprints appear in red at the signature areas. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green intaglio on white paper, the reverse displays a symmetrical lathe-work guilloche design with four large oval rosettes at the corners and two numeral 5 panels flanking a central rectangular frame. The central frame bears the inscription EL CAJERO within an elaborate engine-turned border. The American Bank Note Company imprint appears at the bottom centre, and the overall design is composed of intricate geometric lathe-work patterns typical of the period. |
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| Comments |
Banco de la Unión was one of several private Colombian commercial banks authorized to issue currency under the 1880 banking law, which ended the state's monopoly on note issue and opened the field to private institutions — a brief liberal experiment that lasted only until the Banco Nacional reasserted dominance in the late 1880s. The Union's notes were redeemable in silver coin at its Bogotá offices, a promise that became increasingly strained as silver depreciation worsened through the decade.
ABNC engraved and printed the entire series in New York. Colombian private bank notes of this period are genuinely scarce; most circulated hard and were redeemed or destroyed when the issuing banks folded.