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20 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1899 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S165 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SAN JOSE, 1º de Abril de 1899 EL BANCO DE COSTA RICA PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR LA CANTIDAD DE 20 Veinte Pesos EN MONEDA ACUÑADA xx 20 xx 20*VEINTE*20*VEINTE*20 (Translation: San Jose, 1st of April of 1899 The Bank of Costa Rica Will pay the bearer the quantity of 20 Twenty pesos In minted currency xx 20 xx 20*Twenty*20*Twenty*20) |
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| Variants | P#S165a - Issued note P#S165p - Proof P#S165r - Unsigned remainder P#S165s - Specimen |
| Comments |
Banco de Costa Rica was a private commercial bank operating under government concession, not a central bank — Costa Rica wouldn't establish a true central bank until 1950. The American Bank Note Company handled the bulk of Latin American private bank note production in this period, and their work for Costa Rica in the 1890s followed that same commercial model: plates contracted, printed in New York, shipped south for signature and issue.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference (S165) places this firmly in the Specialized catalogue for private and provincial issues, a reminder that formal national currency unification in Central America came late.