Catalog
50 Colones Oro
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1897 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Reverse description | Printed in red-orange on white paper; central oval vignette of the Costa Rican national arms surrounded by elaborate guilloche lacework, with denomination numerals 50 at each corner. Horizontal text panels flank the arms with legends regarding acceptance in payment of public dues and taxes. Imprint of American Bank Note Company, New York at lower margin. Handstamp of Secretaría de Hacienda y Timbre at upper left, with manuscript date. |
| Reverse lettering | CINCUENTA COLONES SE RECIBE EN LAS ADMINISTRACIONES DE LAS RENTAS PÚBLICAS EN PAGO DE DEUDAS IMPUESTOS Y CONTRIBUCIONES FISCALES MIENTRAS ESTE CERTIFICADO NO SEA PAGADO EN ORO LA CANTIDAD A SU PRESENTACIÓN EN EL BANCO DE COSTA RICA POR MONEDA NACIONAL DE PLATA SECRETARÍA DE HACIENDA Y TIMBRE REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA |
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| Comments |
The 1897 50 Colones Oro belongs to a period when Costa Rica was consolidating its paper currency system under considerable political pressure from private banks that had previously enjoyed near-total control over note issuance. The Banco Internacional de Costa Rica had not yet been established — that came decades later — and the Republic was issuing its own notes in direct competition with, and often to discipline, those private institutions.
American Bank Note Company printed the great majority of Latin American government paper in this period, and their San José-destined work was no exception. The "Oro" designation was not decorative — it signaled theoretical gold convertibility at a moment when that promise was frequently strained by government finances.