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1/2 Onza / 4 Escudos
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de San José |
|---|---|
| Year | 1850-1858 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a full-length standing figure of an indigenous woman facing left, partially draped and wearing a feathered headdress, holding a bundle of arrows in her lowered right hand and resting her left arm upon a square stone pedestal. The pedestal bears the independence date inscription 15 DE SETE. DE 1821 in four lines. The denomination 1/2 OZ. is engraved on the base beneath her feet. The legend AMERICA CENTRAL arcs across the upper field, while the fineness mark 21 Qs. appears at the lower left and the engraver's initials J.B. are positioned at the lower right. |
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| Mint | San José Mint |
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| Additional information |
The Casa de Moneda de San José — Costa Rica's national mint, established in 1825 — produced this series during a period when the young republic was still negotiating the practical realities of monetary independence from the collapsed Central American Federation. The dual denomination, expressing value simultaneously in the old Spanish escudo system and the emerging decimal onza, reflects that transitional awkwardness directly in the coin's name rather than resolving it.
KM#100 is known with multiple assayer initial combinations across the 1850–1858 run, and attribution without confirmed assayer marks can be genuinely difficult.