The Bank of the Republic
Two Pesos Gold — from Camilo Torres to Policarpa Salavarrieta
The 1947 specimen belongs to the long series with the portrait of Camilo Torres Tenorio, in circulation since 1923. A quarter of a century later, the 1972 specimen documents the redesign of the denomination with the portrait of Policarpa Salavarrieta and a Muisca raft from the Gold Museum on the reverse.
Banknote circulado impreso por American Bank Note Company, correspondiente a la larga serie de Two Pesos Gold con el portrait of Camilo Torres, en circulación desde 1923.
Specimen “MUESTRA” del diseño renovado de esta denominación, con el portrait of Policarpa Salavarrieta y una balsa muisca del Museo del Oro en el reverse.
Obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) — Notofilia.com Collection
Camilo Torres Tenorio
The federalist precursor:Camilo Torres Tenorio (Popayán, 1766 – Santafé de Bogotá, 1816) was a lawyer, intellectual and politician who led the independence movement of New Granada. As president of Congress and the United Provinces, he defended the implementation of a federalist system in the country, and is remembered as the author of the “Memorial of Grievances”.
Martyr of independence:after the Spanish Reconquest, Torres was captured and executed by firing squad in Santafé de Bogotá on October 5, 1816. His portrait, based on a work by painter José María Espinosa, appeared continuously on Dos Pesos Oro issues from 1923 to 1955 before being replaced by Policarpa Salavarrieta's portrait in later editions.
Policarpa Salavarrieta, “La Pola”
Heroine of independence:Policarpa Salavarrieta Ríos (1795–1817), popularly known as “La Pola”, was a Bogotá seamstress who served as a spy and informant for patriot forces during the Spanish Reconquest. Captured by royalist authorities, she was executed by firing squad in Bogotá's Plaza Mayor on November 14, 1817, at age 22.
National symbol:her execution made her a martyr and a symbol of women's sacrifice in the independence cause; in 1967, the Congress of Colombia declared November 14 the “Día de la Mujer Colombiana” in her honor. Her inclusion on the Dos Pesos Oro banknote, issued only five years after that declaration, reflects this official recognition.
One Denomination, Two Symbols
The Dos Pesos Oro banknote bearing Torres’s portrait circulated continuously from 1923 to 1955, more than three decades of institutional use. The 1972 specimen shown here documents the denomination’s later redesign, which replaced Torres with Policarpa Salavarrieta and added a Muisca raft from Bogotá’s Museo del Oro to the reverse —a pre-Columbian goldwork object representing the “El Dorado” ceremony—, linking pre-Hispanic iconography with the issuing Banco’s own institutional identity.
Sources
- Pick, Albert.Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.
- Collections Bank of the Republic —collections.banrepcultural.org(opens in a new tab)
- Numista —numista.com(opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — “Colombian two-peso banknote”
- Bank of the Republic —banrep.gov.co(opens in a new tab)