Colombia 500 Pesos 2012-2024

History

Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com

Description

October 16, 2012 – The Banco de la República de Colombia has issued a new and extended family of coins. The new coins are lighter and, in most cases, smaller than their predecessors – making them cheaper to produce, according to the Bank, as well as cheaper and easier to manage in circulation. Moreover, they have a range of new security features, along with intricate design and engraving, to make counterfeiting more difficult.

There is a consistent design theme through all five coins in the new series of native Colombian fauna and flora, which is intended to reflect the country’s biodiversity. The coins also feature images of water, which is seen as essential to the country’s ecological heritage.

The coins were designed by the Colombian artists Johana Calle and José Antonio Suarez.

Obverse	Depicts the country name over the value in the centre, date below. · REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA · 500 ·PESOS· 2012
Reverse	Animal (fish, bird, mammal etc.) Frog Depicts a glass frog inside a heptagon, its popular and scientific names above. The glass frogs belong to the amphibian family Centrolenidae (order Anura). While the general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some members of this family is transparent and translucent, giving the glass frog its common name. The internal viscera, including the heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract, are visible through the skin. When active their blood makes them visible; when sleeping most of the blood is concealed in the liver, hiding them. Glass frogs are arboreal, living mainly in trees, and only come out for mating season. Their transparency conceals them very effectively when sleeping on a green leaf, as they habitually do. Rana de Cristal ANURA CENTROLENIDAE
Edge	Interrupted reeded