Catalog
50 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Santander |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Peso (1837-1931) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in reddish-brown ink on pale paper, with the bank title BANCO DE SANTANDER in bold letterpress across the upper centre, flanked on each side by oval guilloche cartouches enclosing the numeral 50. A central vignette presents a landscape scene, likely a rural Colombian vista, set within an ornate frame. The body of the note carries a handwritten promise-to-pay text in Spanish, indicating the place of issue as Bucaramanga and the date 1 de Junio de 1873, with the denomination CINCUENTA PESOS repeated in a rectangular panel at the foot and the series and serial number 1923 printed at both left and right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in reddish-brown ink and carries a large central guilloche rosette underprint. At the upper portion, a stamped circular seal of the Colombian government authority appears at the left, alongside a handwritten or stamped legend authorising the note under a provisional government decree. Below, the text identifies the members of the Junta de Emisión, with three manuscript signatures applied in ink. The overall design is simple, with the guilloche pattern providing the principal decorative element. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Banco de Santander was one of several regional Colombian banks authorized under the 1871 banking law, which allowed individual states of the Granadine Confederation to charter their own note-issuing institutions. The result was a proliferation of private bank paper across the country, much of it printed locally rather than sent abroad to established European or American security printers — which is precisely what makes this note unusual. Domestic printing in 1873 Colombia meant limited access to intaglio equipment, and quality varied considerably between issues.
Santander's notes circulated in a region where counterfeit risk was compounded by inconsistent public familiarity with legitimate issues from competing banks.