from 1923

Banco de la República: the bank of issue

Law 25 of 1923, the Kemmerer Mission, the gold peso, 1923 provisionals, 1932 silver pesos, ABNC, De La Rue, and the Imprenta de Billetes.

After years of financial crises, Pedro Nel Ospina’s government asked an expert committee to study and reform the country’s economic conditions. In 1922 the Conversion Board — Law 5, Decree 165, and deed 206 at Bogotá’s Third Notary — was authorized to issue and retire two treasury bonds overstamped on the back, before the Banco de la República was created. In March 1923 it hired Edwin W. Kemmerer, the American economist widely known as a “money doctor.” Law 25 of 1923, on his recommendations, created the Banco de la República as a mixed-capital company — government and commercial banks — with 10 million gold pesos and the exclusive right to issue legal tender. It was to open in January 1924; a run on the Banco López brought the doors forward to 23 July 1923. President Ospina had gold certificates engraved by the American Bank Note Company flown from the Medellín mint — rail to Puerto Berrío, flying boat to Girardot, train to Bogotá — and, over a weekend, they were overstamped on the back “BANCO DE LA REPÚBLICA — BILLETE PROVISIONAL.” The museum booklet also records a 2½-peso provisional. The regular pesos-oro series — the paper was so named to signal its backing and its convertibility — followed from New York; the 1-peso of that family was printed through 1977. In 1931 the bank took control of the metal and convertibility ended. After the war with Peru (1932) issues in pesos plata appeared beside heavy 50-centavo coinage. In the Second World War 1-peso notes were cut and overstamped as ½ peso; in 1948 the Treasury issued its own ½ peso. Mid-century Thomas De La Rue printed alongside ABNC. On 23 October 1959 the Imprenta de Billetes opened in Bogotá; its first job was the blue 1-peso (Pick 404). The 5-peso of 1961–1981 carries the walls of Cartagena. In 1951, after recommendations by Richard Grove and Gerald Alter, the legislature gave monetary and credit authority to the Board; in 1963 that policy passed to the Monetary Board and the bank became the executor. In 1973 the state bought nearly all private shares (Law 7). The 1991 Constitution and Law 31 of 1992 restored the Board’s autonomy from the executive, with a mandate to preserve purchasing power. This case documents the 1953 Treasury ½ peso oro (Pick 345b), serial C5256707, the 1945 1 peso oro (Pick 380d), the 1954 1 peso oro (Pick 380g), the 1959 1 peso oro (Pick 398), serial 60870843, the 1973 1 peso oro (Pick 404e) and the 1974 (Pick 404e), the 1943 10 pesos oro (Pick 389b), the 1944 2 pesos oro (Pick 390b), the 1955 2 pesos oro (Pick 390d), the 1977 2 pesos oro (Pick 413b), the 1977 500 pesos oro (Pick 420a / TBB B962a), serial 038064123, the 1960 5 pesos oro specimen (Pick 405s), by De La Rue, the 1980 5 pesos oro (Pick 406f / TBB B949p), serial 94658896, the 1979 5 pesos oro replacement (Pick 406f; Hernández 156), serial 00141180, the 1976 10 pesos oro replacement (Pick 407f / TBB B950kr), the 1979 10 pesos oro (Pick 407g), serial 98040194, the 1983 20 pesos oro (Pick 409d), serial 056462955, the 1974 50 pesos oro (Pick 414a / TBB B953b), serial 2467354822, the 1984 50 pesos oro (Pick 425a), serial 0001806322, the 1980 100 pesos oro specimen (Pick 418s), SPECIMEN Nº 027, the 1980 100 pesos oro (Pick 418b / TBB B958a), serial 08648220, the 1989 200 pesos oro specimen (Pick 429ds), control 499, the 1979 1,000 pesos oro (Pick 421a / TBB B963a), the 1983 2,000 pesos oro specimen (Pick 430as), by De La Rue, the 1992 5,000 pesos oro (Pick 436A / TBB B974b), serial 46772124, the 1993 5,000 pesos oro (Pick 436A / TBB B974c), serial 82210365, the 1994 Emberá 10,000 pesos (Pick 437A / TBB B980az), one record with star serials 00113227 and 00249902, and the 2008 2,000 pesos (Pick 457) with binary radar serial 10000001.