Catalog
20 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Internacional de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO INTERNACIONAL DE COSTA RICA EL BANCO INTERNACIONAL DE COSTA RICA SAN JOSE VEINTE SÉRIE B PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR LA CANTIDAD DE VEINTE COLONES EN MONEDA ACUÑADA DE ORO EL SECRETARIO DE HACIENDA EL DIRECTOR SPECIMEN |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse centres on an oval intaglio vignette of a laureate allegorical female head in profile, enclosed within an ornate lathe-work frame. The denomination numeral '20' appears twice in the flanking panels on either side of the central medallion, all surrounded by intricate guilloche patterns extending to the note's borders. The issuer's name is divided between the top and bottom margins, and the printer's imprint appears at the lower edge. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Internacional de Costa Rica was established in 1914 as a state-owned institution created partly to break the monopoly that the Banco de Costa Rica had held over note issue. This 1916 date places the note among the earliest emissions from that new mandate, when the bank was still asserting itself as the country's dominant monetary authority.
ABNC's involvement brought the engraving quality expected of their New York operation — the same shop producing notes for governments across the hemisphere during this period. Pick 169A is the earlier of two catalogued signature varieties for this denomination and date.