10 Pesos

Banco de Costa Rica was a private commercial bank that held government authorization to issue currency — not a central bank in any modern sense. By 1899, it was operating alongside Banco de la Unión (later Banco de Costa Rica's eventual rival) in an environment where multiple private institutions held concurrent issuing rights, a arrangement that persisted until the government moved to consolidate note-issuing authority in the early twentieth century.

The American Bank Note Company's involvement was typical for Latin American private banks of the period seeking to signal credibility through association with a recognized security printer. ABNC maintained extensive plate archives, and reused or adapted stock vignette elements across client issues with some frequency.