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1 Colón Silver Certificate, uniface with stamped back
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica (Secretaría de Hacienda) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1902-1903 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Colón (1896-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE COSTA-RICA CERTIFICAMOS QUE ESTÁ DEPOSITADO EN PLATA EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE RENTAS PUBLICAS EL VALOR DE 1 UN COLÓN QUE SERÁ PAGADO AL PORTADOR Á LA PRESENTACIÓN, EN MONEDAS DE 25 Ó 50 CENTIMOS. San José de Costa Rica 5 de Novembre de 190 2 EL SECRETARIO DE HACIENDA EL ADMINISTRATOR PRINCIPAL 1 UNO American Bank Note Co. New York |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | SECRETARIO DE HACIENDA Y COMERCIO REPUBLICA DE COSTA-RICA |
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| Comments |
Costa Rica's Secretaría de Hacienda — the Treasury, not the central bank — issued this note directly under government authority during a period when no single bank held a monopoly on paper currency. The Silver Certificate designation matters: these notes were theoretically redeemable in silver coin, a promise that carried real political weight in 1902, when bimetallism was still a live debate across Latin America and public confidence in paper depended entirely on that guarantee.
The uniface printing with a stamped reverse is not a curiosity — it was deliberate cost-cutting. ABNC produced the face plate; the back received only a simple control stamp applied locally. That division of labor is legible in the finished note if you know to look for the ink differential.