The Bank of the Republic
Five Hundred Pesos Oro, 1947, and the Santander series (1984, 1989, 1993)
The 1947 specimen belongs to the earliest design of this denomination, with a military portrait and the Bank's emblem on the reverse. Since 1984, the design has been stabilized with the portrait of Francisco de Paula Santander on the obverse and the Bogotá Mint on the reverse, a format that was maintained, with minor variations, for almost a decade.
Specimen impreso por American Bank Note Company, con el diseño más temprano de esta denominación dentro of the collection.
Specimen that introduces the long-lived design with Santander on the obverse and the Casa de la Moneda de Bogotá on the reverse, still with the English “SPECIMEN” overprint.
Obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) — Notofilia.com CollectionSpecimen that repeats the 1984 design with the same Casa de la Moneda vignette, now with the Spanish legend “MUESTRA SIN VALOR”.
Obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) — Notofilia.com CollectionThe final specimen of this series, almost identical to those of 1984 and 1989 except for the date and minor security refinements.
Obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) — Notofilia.com Collection
From 1947 to the Santander Series
The 1947 example, printed by American Bank Note Company, represents an early design for the denomination, with green tones and a military portrait on the obverse. In 1984, Banco de la República adopted a lasting new design: Francisco de Paula Santander’s portrait beside a vignette of the Bogotá Mint, repeated —with variations in date, signatures, and overprint— on the 1984, 1989, and 1993 examples shown here.
The Bogotá Mint
The colonial building represented on the reverse corresponds to the Casa de la Moneda de Bogotá, the old mint where metallic currency was minted from colonial times to the 19th century, today the headquarters of a museum of the Bank of the Republic. Its presence on the banknote connects the modern issuing institution with the city's long monetary tradition.
From “Specimen” to “Sample Without Value”
The four specimens document, once again, the editorial transition of the Colombian currency: those from 1947 and 1984 carry the overprint in English “SPECIMEN”, while those from 1989 and 1993 already adopt the Castilian legend “SAMPLE WITHOUT VALUE”.
Sources
- Pick, Albert.Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.
- Hernández, Pedro Pablo.Coins and Banknotes of Colombia.
- Restrepo, Jorge Emilio.Coins of Colombia.
- Heritage Auctions —ha.com(opens in a new tab)
- Numista —numista.com(opens in a new tab)
- Bank of the Republic —banrep.gov.co(opens in a new tab)