The paper bills can be confusing to a foreigner, especially if you are not familiar with the language. It's a good idea to google "Colombian banknotes" before going and familiarize yourself with the money. Here are some helpful hints for the non Spanish-speaking:
- The word "mil" in Spanish does not mean "million." It means "thousand."
- On most bills, there is printed, in arabic numbers, the acutal number of pesos represented by the bill. For example, a twenty thousand peso banknote will actually have the arabic number 20,000 on it. That's easy.
- The 50,000 peso bill does not have the arabic number 50,000 on it. Printed on it is "50 mil." Since "mil" means thousand, you simply add the last three zeros to get 50,000.
- The most confusing banknote is the 1000 peso bill. Printed on it is "1000 mil pesos." You might mistakenly think that, similar to the 50 mil bill, you add three zeros to the arabic numbers and you have a 1,000,000 peso note. But, it is a 1000 peso note.
- Also, be aware that the COL$1.000 bill is very simillar in colour to the COL$10.000 one. Lukily, both have the arabic numbers printed.