Catalog
10 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884 |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#121 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA DIEZ 10 Las Administraciones de las Rentas Públicas pagarán al Portador la Suma de DIEZ PESOS en moneda acuñada y corriente de este País San José, de COSTA RICA EL SECRETARIO DE HACIENDA EL ADMINISTRADOR PRINCIPAL SPECIMEN American Bank Note Co. New York |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is divided into a large circular guilloche medallion at left bearing the numeral 10 at its centre, surrounded by intricate lathe-work engine-turned patterns filling the entire field. A central diagonal band carries the inscription REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA in white serif lettering against a fine geometric background, flanked on the right by a naturalistic vignette of flowering branches. The denomination DIEZ PESOS appears in a solid panel at the bottom centre, with the printer's imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY NEW YORK at the top margin. |
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| Comments |
Costa Rica's 1884 issue came during a period when the country had no functioning central bank — the República issued currency directly, with American Bank Note Company producing the plates in New York as it did for dozens of Latin American governments locked out of European printing arrangements or simply preferring ABNC's reliability. The relationship between Costa Rica and ABNC stretched across several decades and denominations, making individual dating within the series genuinely tricky without reference to serial number ranges.
Pick 121 is among the scarcer denominations of the direct-republic issues. The 10 Pesos face value placed it above everyday transactional use in a country where most commerce ran on far smaller figures, which likely suppressed circulation and paradoxically reduced survival rates through destruction rather than wear.