The North Bank

Historical and Issue Context

A bank from Santander Province:The Banco del Norte was established in Socorro, the historical capital of the province of Santander, by public deed of September 25, 1881, with its first series of banknotes issued two years later, in 1882.^1,2—one of the numerous regional private banks authorized to issue their own banknote under the free banking regime in force in Colombia between 1871 and 1886.

Printed in Bogotá:unlike banknotes from capital-city banks printed by foreign firms, this specimen came from D. Paredes’s local lithographic shop in Bogotá, using limestone plates to transfer the design to paper —a common practice among smaller regional banks; indeed, this bank’s notes were known for lacking a printer’s imprint.¹

End of operations:The Banco del Norte was liquidated in 1919, a year after the death of Mainero, its main shareholder.¹

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Upper left vignette:two wild horses running free, an uncommon iconographic motif among Colombian banknotes of the period.
• Right rosette:large geometric rose window that frames the numeral “5”, formed by guilloches of high-density interlaced curved lines.
• Main text:“THE BANK OF THE NORTH will pay the bearer on demand FIVE PESOS.”
• Informative margins:The left margin details the hours of operation “from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon of each non-holiday day”; The right margin certifies the legal constitution of the bank by deed of September 25, 1881.
• Reverse:ornamental frame of fine security frames, with the openwork denomination showing “BANCO DEL NORTE” flanked by decorative numbers “5”, and the central indication for the signature of “The Cashier”.
• Color:black ink over a light-green-tinted security background on the obverse, with the reverse in pale gray tones.