Currency of Colombia that the bank no longer existed). The period 1899–1903 witnessed revolution, civil war (the Thousand Days War of 1899–1902), inflation, and depreciation. There were numerous note issues of various kinds. Then calm slowly returned. A law of 25 October 1903 prohibited new paper money issues, permitted payment in gold to be stipulated in contracts, and reintroduced the gold peso ("peso oro"), equal to 100 paper pesos, effective 1 January 1904. Outstanding notes were absorbed by auction sales of gold. "El Banco Nacional de la República de Colombia" issued notes in 1886 for 50 centavos and 1, 5, and 10 pesos.
Free silver standard which had been the hallmark of the Cleveland administration to the free-silver position epitomized by 1896 presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan in his Cross of Gold speech. Bryan's 1896 candidacy was supported by Populists and "silver Republicans" as well as by most Democrats. The issue was over what would back the US currency. The two options were: "gold" (wanted by the Goldbugs and William McKinley) and "silver" (wanted by the Silverites and Bryan). Unbacked "paper" (wanted by the Greenbacks) represented a third option. A fourth option, currency backed by "land value", was advocated by Senator Leland Stanford through several