5 Colones

KM#227 was part of a broader shift in Costa Rican coinage during the late 1980s and 1990s, when the Banco Central moved away from stainless steel toward cheaper brass-plated steel as chronic inflation steadily eroded the practical value of low-denomination coins. The 5 colón piece was itself something of an anachronism by 1995 — inflation had been running so high for so long that the denomination bought almost nothing in daily commerce.

Brass-plated steel strikes from this period are prone to delamination of the plating at the rim, a known production artifact worth examining on any example.