50 Colones Silver certificate, 'en moneda acuñada de plata'

Costa Rica's Administración de Rentas Públicas was not a central bank — it was the state revenue administration, pressed into issuing currency during a period when no single institution held firm monetary authority. The "en moneda acuñada de plata" clause, guaranteeing redemption in minted silver coin, was a direct response to public distrust of unbacked paper; the government understood it needed to write the promise explicitly into the note's face text to get the public to accept it at all.

The ABNCo contract for this series reflects a broader pattern: Central American governments of this period routinely sourced their security printing from New York rather than European houses, partly for cost and partly for faster turnaround across Atlantic shipping lanes.