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8 Reales Type I Countermark
| Issuer | Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Year | 1841-1842 |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Obverse description | Host coin featuring the draped and laureate bust of Ferdinand VII of Spain facing right, with the surrounding Latin legend identifying the monarch. Superimposed at center is the Costa Rican Type I countermark, consisting of a radiant six-pointed star punch applied within a small incuse circle of approximately 7 mm diameter. The countermark is boldly struck into the obverse field of the host coin, partially overlapping the effigy and legend. The host coin dates to the Lima mint issue of 1814, struck in the Spanish colonial milled tradition. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
In the early 1840s, Costa Rica lacked both the infrastructure and bullion supply to strike coinage from scratch, so the newly independent state resorted to countermarking Spanish colonial 8 reales — primarily Guatemalan issues — to assert monetary authority and validate their circulation. The Type I countermark on KM#8 uses a small, crude hand-punched device applied at San José under conditions that produced notoriously inconsistent strikes.
Forgeries of the countermark itself were a documented problem almost immediately, prompting Costa Rica to introduce the Type II countermark not long after.