Catalog
5 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries the bold heading REPUBLICA DE COSTA RICA across a central panel, flanked by the numeral 5 at each corner. A circular vignette at the left displays the Costa Rican coat of arms within an ornate border, while a second vignette at the right contains a sailing vessel. The central text block states the promise to pay CINCO PESOS in cursive and roman lettering, dated San José de Costa Rica, 2 de Enero de 1865, with two manuscript signature lines below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPUBLICA DE COSTA RICA CINCO PESOS Las Administraciones de las Rentas Públicas pagarán al Portador la Suma de CINCO PESOS en moneda acuñada y corriente de este País. San José de Costa Rica, 2 de Enero de 1865. El Secretario de Hacienda / El Administrador Principal |
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| Comments |
The República de Costa Rica series of the 1860s predates any formal central banking structure in the country — these notes were issued directly under state authority during a period when Costa Rica's monetary system was still negotiating the competing pressures of coffee export revenues and chronic fiscal shortfalls. The 1865 date places this note squarely in the presidency of Jesús Jiménez Zamora's first term, a period of institutional consolidation after the Walker filibuster wars of the preceding decade had strained public finances severely.
P#103 is among the rarest of the pre-bank Costa Rican issues. Surviving examples are almost invariably remainder or unissued stock; genuinely circulated specimens are seldom encountered.