100 Colones Manatee

Issued as part of Costa Rica's "Conservation" series produced for the 1974 FAO World Food Conference and the broader international conservation movement of the early 1970s, this piece was struck by the British Royal Mint on behalf of the Banco Central. The West Indian manatee had already been hunted to critical scarcity along Costa Rica's Caribbean coast by the time of minting, lending the subject genuine urgency rather than ceremonial convenience.

A companion .500 silver issue (KM#201) was produced simultaneously for circulation; the .925 piece was aimed squarely at the collector market.