50 Colones Hawksbill turtle, colorized

Costa Rica's 2023 wildlife series reflects the country's long-standing constitutional mandate to protect its biodiversity — a legal framework that predates most international conservation agreements by decades. The hawksbill is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, and Costa Rican nesting beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts have been central to regional recovery programs since the 1990s.

The acrylic colorization process, increasingly used by smaller central banks seeking distinction without the expense of bimetallic tooling, is applied after striking rather than during it — making surface integrity over time a legitimate concern for long-term holders.