10 Céntimos

Costa Rica's shift to copper-nickel coinage in the early 1950s followed chronic shortages of silver and the broader Latin American move toward base-metal subsidiary coinage as silver prices climbed after World War II. The Banco Central itself had only been established in 1950, making this among the first issues struck under its direct authority rather than that of its predecessor, the Banco Nacional.

The type ran for twenty-five years without substantive modification — a span that reflects monetary stability unusual for the region in that period.