5 Céntimos Piedfort

Piedforts — coins struck at double or greater thickness using standard dies — were almost never produced for general circulation, and Costa Rica's 1936 issue is no exception. These were almost certainly struck as presentation or specimen pieces, a practice common among smaller republics contracting European mints to produce their coinage. The Banco Internacional de Costa Rica oversaw monetary affairs at the time, operating in an increasingly unstable fiscal environment ahead of the 1936 currency reforms.

The copper-nickel composition itself had only recently replaced older bronze types for low denominations, introduced partly under pressure from nickel-producing interests with commercial ties to Central American governments.