Catalog
1 Colón
| Issuer | Banco Anglo Costarricense |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Currency | Colón (1896-1986) |
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| Obverse description | Dark-bordered note with a central intaglio vignette of a three-quarter portrait bust of a gentleman in formal attire set within an ornate oval frame, flanked by large guilloche numeral '1' underprints on both sides. The bank title 'EL BANCO ANGLO COSTARRICENSE' runs across the top, with serial numbers and 'SERIE A' at upper left and right, and the place of issue 'SAN JOSÉ' at lower left. The lower panel carries the promise-to-pay inscription 'PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR A LA VISTA LA CANTIDAD DE UN COLÓN EN MONEDA NACIONAL DE ORO CONFORME A LEY 23 JUNIO 1917', with signature titles 'EL PRESIDENTE' and 'EL ADMINISTRADOR' flanking the text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO ANGLO COSTARRICENSE PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR A LA VISTA LA CANTIDAD DE UN COLÓN EN MONEDA NACIONAL DE ORO CONFORME A LEY 23 JUNIO 1917 SAN JOSÉ SERIE A EL PRESIDENTE EL ADMINISTRADOR AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY |
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| Comments |
Banco Anglo Costarricense was a British-owned commercial bank operating in Costa Rica, one of three private banks legally authorized to issue currency in the country during this period. The Anglo, as it was known locally, had operated since 1863 and enjoyed a reputation for sound reserves — its notes generally commanded more public confidence than those of its domestic rivals.
The American Bank Note Company contract for this series placed production firmly in New York, though the notes circulated exclusively through the bank's Costa Rican branches. ABNC handled most of the region's private bank note printing at this time, and the plates were their work entirely.
Costa Rica nationalized its banking system in 1948, ending all private note issue. The Anglo itself was finally liquidated in 1994 after a spectacular fraud scandal that ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars.