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20 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse bears the overprinted heading "BANCO NACIONAL DE COSTA RICA" in red across the earlier "BANCO INTERNACIONAL DE COSTA RICA" title, with a large central guilloche underprint surrounding the denomination numeral "20" and a text panel in Spanish stating the note's convertibility terms. To the right, an allegorical seated female figure in classical dress is rendered in intaglio. Serial numbers appear at upper left and upper right, with series and reference notations at lower left and lower right. The imprint of the American Bank Note Company is visible at the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANCO INTERNACIONAL DE COSTA RICA DEPARTAMENTO DE EMISIÓN CAJA DE CONVERSION San José, febrero 3, 1939 Si Presidente El Gerente |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Costa Rica was created in 1914 as the country's first state-owned bank, but its note-issuing authority was repeatedly contested by private banks well into the 1930s. By 1939, the political consolidation was largely settled, and ABNC-printed notes of this type represented the stable face of that resolution — high-security intaglio production from New York, delivered to a Central American institution that had fought hard for its dominant position.
American Bank Note Company's work for Costa Rica through this period is consistent in quality. The cotton substrate on this series is known to brown at the folds under tropical storage conditions, which affects a disproportionate share of surviving examples.