Catalog
50 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Panamá |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black intaglio on a pink-tinted underprint with intricate guilloche border work. At center, a large allegorical vignette presents a terrestrial globe flanked by a steamship at left and a locomotive at right, symbolizing international commerce and transit; the bank title 'El Banco de Panamá' appears in ornate script across the top, with the denomination numeral '50' in bold at each upper corner. Oval portrait vignettes of a male figure in formal attire are inset at the lower left and lower right, with the manuscript promise-to-pay inscription 'Pagará al Portador a la vista la cantidad de CINCUENTA PESOS en efectivo. Panamá' occupying the central text panel. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO DE PANAMÁ Pagará al Portador a la vista la cantidad del CINCUENTA PESOS en efectivo. Panamá de 18 Por El Banco de Panamá 50 |
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| Comments |
Banco de Panamá was a short-lived private commercial institution operating under Colombian federal banking law — Panama would not separate from Colombia for another thirty-four years. The 50 Pesos denomination was the highest in this series, printed by the American Bank Note Company at their Maiden Lane facilities. ABNC held a near-monopoly on Latin American bank note commissions during this period, and their work for Panamanian and Colombian issuers from the late 1860s reflects that dominance.
Given the bank's brief operational lifespan and the limited commercial scale of Panama in 1869, issued and circulated examples are genuinely rare. The S-prefix in the Pick reference confirms private bank classification under Colombian monetary authority.