Catalog
2 Colones Silver Certificate
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica (Administración de Rentas Públicas) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918-1922 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Portrait bust of a colonial-era figure in left profile within an oval intaglio vignette at left, set against a pink guilloche underprint with large ornamental numeral '2' at centre flanked by intricate lathe-work rosettes. The Costa Rican national coat of arms appears within a circular vignette at right. Denomination panel 'DOS COLONES' in bold letterpress is centred below the guilloche, with serial numbers in red at lower left and right, and two further '2' numerals at the lower corners. Printer's imprint 'American Bank Note Co. New York' appears at the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Entirely engraved in red-orange on cream paper, the reverse is dominated by three large interlocking guilloche rosettes with scrollwork numeral '2' at left. A central circular medallion bears the inscription 'REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA / DOS COLONES' around its perimeter enclosing a fine lathe-work background, while the national coat of arms of Costa Rica appears in a second medallion at right. The printer's imprint 'American Bank Note Company New York' runs along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Costa Rica's Administración de Rentas Públicas was a fiscal arm of the government rather than a bank, and its silver certificates were tied directly to declared silver reserves — a meaningful distinction in a country that had no central bank until 1950. The ABNC contract for this series placed production firmly in New York, though the notes circulated in a monetary environment still heavily influenced by coffee export cycles and the chronic instability of Central American exchange rates during the early 1920s.
The four-year date span on Pick 151 reflects reissue across multiple fiscal periods rather than a single print run.