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1 Escudo Pattern
| Issuer | Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1850 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central shield displaying the Costa Rican coat of arms, featuring mountains, a sailing vessel, and a rising sun, flanked by laurel branches at the base. A decorative crest surmounts the shield. The circular legend REPUBLICA DE COSTA RICA arcs around the upper periphery, while the date 1850 appears in the exergue below the shield. The coin exhibits vivid iridescent toning across the lustrous white metal fields. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Costa Rica's monetary system in 1850 was in genuine flux — the young republic was actively debating coinage standards as it distanced itself from the colonial-era macuquina currency still circulating in the region. Pattern pieces from this period were struck to test proposed denominations and compositions before official adoption, and white metal was a common medium for such trials, being cheap and easy to work without committing to a silver or gold standard. The escudo as a unit was itself borrowed from the Spanish colonial framework and would soon give way to decimal reforms.
KM#A3 documents this as a pattern, meaning it never entered circulation.