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50 Colones Oro
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1897 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Colones Oro |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black print on orange and yellow guilloche underprint; portrait of Christopher Columbus at left, allegorical seated figure of Agriculture at center. Series D indicated on face. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#134 - Issued note, punch hole cancelled "RETIRADO" (withdrawn) |
| 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.