The Banco Internacional de Costa Rica occupied an unusual institutional position: it functioned simultaneously as a commercial bank and as the country's de facto central bank, a dual role that created persistent tensions over monetary policy throughout the 1920s. The Caja de Conversión designation on this note refers to the conversion fund mechanism established to stabilize the colón against gold — a system that was already under strain by the late 1920s as coffee export revenues grew volatile.
ABNC handled the bulk of Central American government printing in this period, and the contract relationship was long-standing. The Banco Internacional was dissolved in 1936 when the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica was created to consolidate the country's fragmented banking structure.
The Banco Internacional de Costa Rica occupied an unusual institutional position: it functioned simultaneously as a commercial bank and as the country's de facto central bank, a dual role that created persistent tensions over monetary policy throughout the 1920s. The Caja de Conversión designation on this note refers to the conversion fund mechanism established to stabilize the colón against gold — a system that was already under strain by the late 1920s as coffee export revenues grew volatile.
ABNC handled the bulk of Central American government printing in this period, and the contract relationship was long-standing. The Banco Internacional was dissolved in 1936 when the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica was created to consolidate the country's fragmented banking structure.