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.
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.