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5 Colones
| Issuer | Banco Internacional de Costa Rica - Caja de Conversión |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is engraved in dark blue-violet and centres on an oval vignette of the Costa Rican national coat of arms, surrounded by intricate guilloche work and ornamental scrollwork that fills the entire field. 'BANCO INTERNACIONAL DE COSTA RICA' is inscribed across the top panel and 'CAJA DE CONVERSIÓN' along the lower panel, with a large numeral '5' in an elaborate lathe-work rosette to the right and a blank guilloche oval to the left serving as a security underprint element. The overall composition is symmetrical and heavily engraved in the style typical of American Bank Note Company production. |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO INTERNACIONAL DE COSTA RICA CAJA DE CONVERSIÓN 5 |
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| Comments |
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 with private banking interests throughout the 1920s. The Caja de Conversión, operating alongside it, was specifically tasked with maintaining the colón's gold parity, a commitment that was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain by 1929 as international commodity prices for coffee and bananas — Costa Rica's primary export earners — deteriorated sharply.
The American Bank Note Company printed extensively for Central American issuers during this period, often recycling plate elements across regional clients. Whether this specific design borrows engraving components from earlier ABNC work for Costa Rica or neighboring republics is worth examining closely.