10 Colones

The Banco Internacional de Costa Rica was established in 1914 as a state-controlled institution, effectively absorbing the monetary functions previously fragmented across several private commercial banks. Its note issues through the American Bank Note Company reflect a deliberate policy of anchoring Costa Rican currency credibility to a prestigious North American printer during a period when the colón was under sustained pressure from export commodity swings — coffee and banana revenues were volatile throughout the 1920s.

The thirteen-year date range on P#175 is notably long, suggesting the plates saw extended use across multiple print runs with minimal revision. ABNC-printed Latin American notes from this period frequently show subtle plate wear in later impressions, worth examining under magnification on examples dated toward the early 1930s.