The Costa Rican colón

How paper money started before the colón

Paper money in Costa Rica began with a shortage of metal. In 1839 the head of state, Braulio Carrillo, authorised 30,000 pesos in 5 and 10 peso vouchers so that public employees could be paid. A bank founded in 1858 under the name National Bank of Costa Rica issued notes of 1, 2, 10 and 20 pesos, and with it the banks began to need coins as well.

Which banks printed colones before the central bank

The reform of 1896 made the colón the currency. Because it replaced the peso at par, no new coins were needed at once, and gold coins of 2, 5, 10 and 20 colones followed in 1897. The Banking Law of 1900 then let any bank with a capital of one million colones issue its own notes. Four private banks did so, among them the Banco Anglo-Costarricense and the Banco de Costa Rica.

The state took the right back in stages. It created the International Bank in 1914 as its issuing bank, made it the sole issuer in 1921, and in 1936 renamed it the National Bank of Costa Rica with an Issuing Department. The Banco Central took over in 1950. Its first notes were Banco Nacional stock overprinted with the words BANCO CENTRAL DE COSTA RICA, and regular issues began in 1951. The coins record each issuer by its initials: G.C.R. for the government, then B.I.C.R., B.N.C.R. and, since 1951, B.C.C.R.

What ended the scheduled devaluations

For years the central bank weakened the colón against the US dollar in small, preset monthly steps, known in Costa Rica as minidevaluaciones. On 16 October 2006 the scheme was modified, because the dollar was weak and the colón was seen as undervalued. From 17 October 2006 the bank dropped the controlled devaluations for a system of bands, in which the rates it posts serve as a reference and each authorised institution sets its own.

Why every note now has its own size

Until the last reform, every note the Banco Central issued measured about 6.7 by 15.6 centimetres. A new series in 2011 and 2012 gave each denomination its own colour and size and added notes of 20,000 and 50,000 colones. In 2020 and 2021 a polymer series replaced it, keeping the themes with slightly redrawn motifs. The older paper notes were withdrawn in 2022. The 50,000 was left out of the polymer series, and the notes already issued remain legal tender.

The central bank's current banknote pages list the 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 colón notes.

Where the small coins went

The 5 and 10 céntimo coins were discontinued in 1982 and 1983. Smaller brass coins of 1, 5 and 10 colones came between 1995 and 1998, with 25, 50 and 100 colones added and a 500 colón coin in 2003. Production of the 5 colón coin stopped at the end of 2019. The old series of 50 and 500 colón coins was demonetised on 1 July 2025, and the old 5, 10 and 25 colón coins followed on 1 July 2026, so no cash amount below 10 colones can now be paid in coin. A smaller bimetallic 500 colón coin marked the bicentennial of independence in 2021.