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1 Real Type VII Countermark
| Issuer | Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849-1857 |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | HABILITADA POR EL GOBIERNO (Translation: Enabled by the Government) |
| Reverse description | The reverse of the host coin depicts a left-facing draped bust, likely a portrait associated with a Central American Republic issue, surrounded by the circular legend REPUBLICA DEL CENTRO DE AMERICA with a date visible in the lower exergual area, consistent with an 1840s Central American Federal Republic coinage. The bust is rendered in low relief with radiating lines behind the head suggesting a solar or liberty cap motif characteristic of the period. The legend is interrupted by the irregular cut edges of the planchet, a deliberate modification applied when the coin was adapted for Costa Rican monetary use. The fields show considerable wear and surface marks commensurate with extensive circulation. No additional countermark is present on this face. |
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| Additional information |
Costa Rica's government applied these countermarks to circulating Spanish colonial and early republican reales as a way to authenticate foreign silver and extend its usability as legal tender during a period when the country lacked consistent domestic minting capacity. The host coins vary considerably — Guatemalan, Mexican, and Peruvian reales all appear beneath the punch — which makes attribution of the original planchet as interesting as the countermark itself.
KM#72 spans nearly a decade of application, and the striking quality of the countermark punch deteriorated noticeably over that period.