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50 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO BOGOTÁ, 1º DE MARZO DE 1881. NACIONAL DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE COLOMBIA Pagará al portador á la vista CINCUENTA PESOS en Moneda Corriente. American Bank Note Co. New York (Translation: Bogota, March 1st., 1881. The National Bank of The United States of Colombia Pay to Bearer at sight Fifty Pesos in currency.) |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in brown, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate symmetric guilloche design with multiple interlocking lathe-work rosettes and scrollwork filling the field. The numeral "50" appears in large format at the center within a complex engine-turned medallion, flanked by mirror-image "50" counters at left and right. The issuing bank name is inscribed in letterpress across the upper and lower portions of the border. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia was the country's first government-owned bank, established in 1880 under the Núñez administration as part of a broader effort to centralize monetary control away from the proliferating private state banks that had operated since the 1860s. American Bank Note Company secured the printing contract — their standard arrangement for much of Latin America at this period — producing a series that included this 50 Pesos denomination.
The bank's lifespan was short and contentious. It was liquidated in 1894 after chronic over-issuance eroded public confidence, and the notes were eventually demonetized. High-denomination survivors from the 1881 series are genuinely uncommon as a result.