Catalog
1 Colón Silver Certificate
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1910-1914 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE COSTA-RICA CERTIFICAMOS QUE ESTÁ DEPOSITADO EN PLATA EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE RENTAS PÚBLICAS EL VALOR DE UN COLÓN QUE SERÁ PAGADO AL PORTADOR Á LA PRESENTACIÓN, EN MONEDAS DE 25 Ó 50 CÉNTIMOS San José de Costa-Rica EL SECRETARIO DE HACIENDA EL ADMINISTRADOR PRINCIPAL AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in dark green, the reverse is dominated by three large interlocking guilloche rosettes of fine lathe-work arranged horizontally, with ornate floral corner fillers extending to the scalloped border. At centre, a circular medallion bears the denomination panel 'UN COLÓN' on a ribbon scroll beneath the arc inscriptions 'REPÚBLICA' and 'DE COSTA RICA', with a stylised numeral '1' above. Flanking medallions at left and right repeat the numeral '1' in elaborate engine-turned surrounds, and the printer's imprint 'AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK' appears along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Costa Rica's silver certificate issues of this period were backed by metal reserves held in the Banco de Costa Rica, a government institution that had absorbed the country's collapsed private banks following the 1900 monetary crisis. The silver-certificate mechanism was an attempt to restore public confidence after years of inconvertible paper, essentially offering holders a legal claim on specie rather than a bank's word.
The American Bank Note Company held the printing contract for most Central American government paper of this era, and the Costa Rican series used their standard intaglio security printing. ABNC's work is generally consistent across this run, though the series spans four years and minor plate variations exist between early and late impressions.