Catalog
50 Céntimos Silver certificate, 'en moneda acuñada de plata'
| Issuer | Administración de Rentas Públicas de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1921 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The Costa Rican coat of arms occupies the central medallion, surrounded by an intricate guilloche pattern of scrolling lathe-work that fills the entire field. The denomination numeral '50' appears at each corner and at top and bottom within the ornamental border, and the country name and value are inscribed in the surrounding legends. The American Bank Note Company imprint appears at the foot. |
| Reverse lettering | REPÚBLICA DE CINCUENTA CENTIMOS COSTA RICA 50 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY. |
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| Comments |
Costa Rica's Administración de Rentas Públicas was a fiscal agency, not a bank — the fact that it issued circulating currency at all reflects the chronic shortage of small-denomination notes that plagued the country during this period. The phrase "en moneda acuñada de plata" (in minted silver coin) printed on the face was a legally binding redemption promise, not decoration, intended to shore up public confidence in paper fractional currency at a time when silver coins were routinely hoarded or exported.
ABNC printed the series during a window when Costa Rica had no domestic printing capability worth trusting for secure documents. The plates were almost certainly reused or adapted across the issue's four-year span rather than re-engraved annually.