El Banco Colombiano

Historical and Issue Context

The founder, Recaredo de Villa:The first manager of Banco de Antioquia (1873) and successor to General Pedro Justo Berrío as president of the Sovereign State of Antioquia after Berrío's death in 1875, Don Recaredo de Villa y Piedrahita was also a committed promoter of the Antioquia Railway alongside Cuban engineer Francisco Javier Cisneros. Overthrown by the revolution of 1876, he left Colombia and settled with his family in the Republic of Guatemala, where in 1878 he founded Banco Colombiano en Guatemala with Antioquian capital—an institution that issued its own banknotes until 1901. Some historians suggest that these notes circulated in both Guatemala and Colombia. De Villa (1826–1905) never returned to Colombia.

Roots in Antioquia's free-banking era:The promulgation of the Rionegro Constitution in 1863—defending the principles of freedom and private economic initiative—paved the way for the birth of private banks in Colombia, until then with credit largely controlled by the Church through mortgage censuses. Within this framework, General Pedro Justo Berrío promoted the creation of the Banco de Antioquia with an initial capital of $500,000, quickly subscribed, a true issuing bank. The Guatemalan issuance of this note is a direct extension of that Antioquian banking tradition beyond the borders.

The complete series:In addition to the Un Peso —whose best-known piece is the one dated April 17, 1900— the bank issued bills of $5 (with a cactus in the central vignette), $10 (workers loading a boat on a beach), $20 (farm scene), $50 (a landscape) and $100 (several cows), with dates recorded between 1879 and September 1901.

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Obverse:The national coats of arms of Guatemala and Colombia flank a large central vignette of a muleteer driving a cart drawn by two oxen, enclosed by the text “Republic of Guatemala”. On the left side, within an engraved oval, a full-length figure with armor, shield and spear holding the Phrygian Cap at its end. In the center, “El Banco Colombiano” and the bearer payment text in “One Peso”, along with the date, place of issue and signatures of the bank officials.
• Reverse:ornamental design in green with an engraved central oval that repeats “Banco Colombiano… in Guatemala” around the figure “1” and the word “WEIGHT”, flanked by four smaller medallions with the denomination “UNO” and “$1”.
• Double numbering:The obverse has two serial numbers printed in the upper corners, typical of the cross-numbering practice of Central American private banking at the time.