Since 2016, Colombia has introduced a new family of banknotes that not only modernize the currency but also showcase the country’s rich biodiversity, culture, and history. Each bill features an iconic figure alongside elements representing Colombia’s geography, wildlife, and plant life.
The Colombian peso bills
2,000-Peso Bill (US$0.5)
This bill features Débora Arango (1907-2005), a pioneer of modern art in Colombia, known for her avant-garde representations of Colombian society. It also includes the milky tree, its leaves and fruits, and a graphic representation of the bird from her artwork Las monjas y el cardenal (The nuns and the cardinal).
On the reverse side, the bill’s design highlights Caño Cristales, considered the most beautiful river in the world due to its vibrant colors, with birds of the Serrania La Macarena National Natural Park.
5,000-Peso Bill (US$1.2)
The 5,000-peso bill honors José Asunción Silva (1865-1896), one of Colombia’s most important modernist poets, known for his poem Nocturno. Beside him are a puya plant and a bumblebee.
The reverse side features the Colombian paramos, emphasizing the importance of these ecosystems for environmental balance, with an Andean condor flying high.
10,000-Peso Bill (US$2.4)
This bill features Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda (1921-1999), an anthropologist and pioneer in the study of family structures in Colombia and Latin America. To her left is a Victoria regia flower and a tree frog, symbolizing the rich natural heritage of the Amazon region. The reverse side highlights the Amazon, depicting the river transforming into a snake and a fisherman in a traditional boat.
20,000-Peso Bill (US$4.8)
This bill honors former President Alfonso López Michelsen (1913-2007), who governed from 1974 to 1978. López Michelsen was a politician, lawyer, and writer who promoted agrarian development and administrative decentralization. Beside him are a sugar apple (anon) and an Indigenous Zenu, Weavers of the Colombian Vueltiao HatIndigenous Zenú ear ornament.
The reverse side highlights the La Mojana region, where the Zenú people settled. Its design features the La Mojana canals, a peasant, and the vueltiao hat, one of Colombia’s most iconic handicrafts.
50,000-Peso Bill (US$12)
The 50,000-peso bill features Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014), the Colombian world-renowned writer and Nobel Prize winner in literature, celebrated for One Hundred Years of Solitude and his contributions to magical realism. A hummingbird feeding on a flower and a burgao snail also appear, symbolizing the biodiversity of the Caribbean region.
The reverse side depicts Ciudad Perdida, the heart of the Indigenous Tayrona culture, located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
100,000-Peso Bill (US$24)
This is the highest denomination bill in Colombia and pays tribute to former President Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1908-1994), who governed from 1966 to 1970. Lleras Restrepo was a prominent politician and economist who promoted economic and social reforms in the country. The bill also includes the image of the barranquero bird and the sietecueros flower, honoring the country’s natural wealth.
The reverse side features the Cocora Valley in Quindío, home to the wax palm, Colombia’s national tree.
Commemorative editions and out-of-circulation bills
In addition to the family of bills introduced in 2016, some commemorative editions are still in circulation, including:
50,000-Peso Bill – Jorge Isaacs (1837-1895), novelist and poet, author of María.
20,000-Peso Bill – Julio Garavito (1865-1920), Colombian astronomer whose studies were fundamental in global astronomy.
10,000-Peso Bill – Policarpa Salavarrieta (1795-1817), heroine of Colombia’s independence.
5,000-Peso Bill – Jose Asuncion Silva (1995 edition).
2,000-Peso Bill – Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840), military leader and politician, known as the “Man of the Laws.”
1,000-Peso Bill – Jorge Eliecer Gaitan (1898-1948), politician and popular leader whose assassination marked a turning point in Colombia’s history.
It is important to note that the 1,000-peso bill has been withdrawn from circulation and replaced by a 1,000-peso coin as part of efforts to optimize the issuance and use of cash in Colombia.