10 000 Colones

The Oberthur-printed 10,000 Colones series had a remarkably long run for Costa Rica — a full decade without significant redesign, which was unusual given the country's history of updating high-denomination notes in response to persistent inflation. By the late 1990s, 10,000 Colones had slipped from a substantial sum to an everyday transaction note, eroding whatever prestige the denomination once carried.

Watermarking is the sole listed security feature, which made this series a target for counterfeiting pressure as color-copying technology improved through the early 2000s — a known concern with Oberthur issues of that period that relied on single passive security measures.