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50 Centavos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de la República de Colombia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1900 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on white paper. The upper portion bears the bold title BANCO NACIONAL DE LA REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA, flanked on the left by a large numeral 50 within an ornate cartouche inscribed CINCUENTA CENTAVOS, and on the right by the national coat of arms with an eagle above. A central text band reads PAGARA AL PORTADOR A LA VISTA / CINCUENTA CENTAVOS / EN MONEDA CORRIENTE, with the place and date of issue BOGOTA, 20 DE JULIO DE 1900 below. The lower portion carries the series designation, emission number, and three manuscript signatures above the printed legend 2A. EMISION / MIEMBROS DE LA JUNTA DE EMISION. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Intricate guilloche underprint in grey and rose on white paper, with a large central medallion bearing the numeral 50 surrounded by fine lathe-work ornamental bands. Corner pieces each display the denomination numeral 50, and the words CINCUENTA CENTAVOS are set within the central guilloche field. The inscriptions EL BANCO NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA run along the upper border, with repeated marginal legends reading CINCUENTA CENTAVOS along the sides, and 2A. EMISION noted at the foot. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de la República de Colombia had a troubled final chapter. Colombian law abolished the bank in 1894 following years of controversy over its note-issue monopoly, but the institution lingered in a wind-down state — and the financial chaos of the Thousand Days War (1899–1902) forced emergency fractional issues like this one into circulation regardless. Small-denomination paper was a practical necessity when metallic coin had largely disappeared from everyday trade.
Printed domestically rather than abroad, the production quality reflects the constraints of a country at war with itself. Colombian-printed issues from this period are noticeably cruder than the bank's earlier London or American Bank Note Company work.