Central Bank of Colombia Reveals Six New Banknotes

Photo: Banco de la Republica

The Central Bank of Colombia has announced they will release into circulation a new family of banknotes with six denominations: $2,000 $5,000 $10,000 $20,000 $50,000 and $100,000.

New features will be introduced on the new banknotes to strengthen security. Colombia has not upgraded their banknotes in 18 years due to their low index of counterfeit money. But keep in mind, most Central Banks upgrade their banknotes every 10 to 11 years.

Starting on Thursday, March 31 the first denomination to be released will be the $100,000 Colombian peso, which is the estimated equivalent of $31.40 U.S. dollars. The image on the front of the banknote will feature a former President Carlos Lleras Restrepo.

The back of the banknote will feature an image of Valle de Cocora, Quindío and the wax palm, which is considered the national tree of Colombia.

All of the other denominations will be released throughout 2016. Below you will see the timetable of release along with the features that will appear on each one:

• $20,000 second quarter. The front will be devoted to President Alfonso López Michelsen. The back will have the image of the canals at La Mojana where the Zenú people settled, and the famous sombrero vueltiao, which means round hat.
• $50,000 third quarter. The front will be dedicated to Colombia’s Nobel Prize in literature, Gabriel García Márquez. The back will have a picture of Ciudad Perdida, which means lost city. And the heart of the Tayrona culture in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
• $2,000 fourth quarter. The front will feature the image of painter Débora Arango, a pioneer of modern art in Colombia. The back will feature Caño Cristales, the beautiful river of five colors, located in the Sierra de la Macarena.
• $5,000 fourth quarter. The front will feature the image of the poet José Asunción Silva. The back will have the Colombian páramos, ecosystems of unparalleled wealth.
• $10,000 fourth quarter. The front will feature the image of anthropologist Virginia Gutierrez, a pioneer in family research in Colombia. The back will have an image of the Amazon with its exotic biodiversity. 

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