Catalog
10 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S214 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is divided into three main vignette zones framed by a guilloche-rich border with repeated denomination numerals. At left, an allegorical female figure of Liberty or Justice seated beside the national coat of arms; at centre, an oval intaglio portrait of a bearded gentleman in formal dress; at right, a sailing ship vignette. The bold inscription EL BANCO NACIONAL DE COSTA RICA arches across the upper field, with the establishment decree date ESTABLECIDO SEGUN DECRETO 24 DIC. 1877 below the central portrait. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO NACIONAL DE COSTA RICA ESTABLECIDO SEGUN DECRETO 24 DIC. 1877 Páguese al portador a la vista el cantidad de DIEZ PESOS EN MONEDA ACUÑADA San José PRESIDENTE DE LA DIRECCION ADMINISTRADOR 10 |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Costa Rica was established in 1877, making this 1878 issue among the earliest notes the institution ever produced. The American Bank Note Company contract was a deliberate choice — Costa Rican authorities at the time consistently favored ABNC's New York operation over European alternatives, partly for security engraving quality and partly for the company's established relationships with other Central American republics navigating the same trust problem with domestic paper currency.
Pick S214 falls within the private banco series predating Costa Rica's state banking consolidation of 1914, after which most surviving private issues were withdrawn and destroyed. Survivor rates for 1870s Central American commercial bank paper are genuinely low.