Catalog
50 Pesos
| Issuer | República de Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black and green, with a central portrait vignette of a uniformed male figure set against a fine guilloche underprint. To the left, a detailed architectural vignette depicts a classical government building with figures in the foreground. The large denomination numeral '50' appears at lower left, the title 'REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA' arches across the top, and the value in words 'Cincuenta Pesos' is inscribed in the lower central panel; the note bears overprinted 'SPECIMEN' notices and serial number placeholders '00000' in red. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | República de Costa Rica 50 American Bank Note Co. New York |
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| Comments |
Costa Rica's 1885 50 Pesos predates the country's shift to the colón system, which came with the 1896 monetary reform that wiped out the peso entirely. The República de Costa Rica issued notes directly under state authority during this period rather than through a central bank — the Banco Nacional wouldn't consolidate that function until decades later. American Bank Note Company held a near-monopoly on Central American government printing through the late nineteenth century, and Costa Rica was a reliable client.
Pick 123 is genuinely scarce. Few examples surface in the auction record, and survivors are almost invariably cancelled.