Numistify guide

A Short History of Costa Rican Money: From Cacao to the Colón and Polymer Notes

From cacao beans to polymer banknotes: the history of Costa Rican money by date, based on research by the Central Bank of Costa Rica Museums.

Updated October 2026 · sources: Central Bank Museums and BCCR

The short answer

Costa Rica went from cacao as official money (from 1709), its first coins (1825), government vouchers and notes (from 1839), bank notes (from 1858) and the peso, to the colón, created by the 1896 reform, divided into 100 céntimos and based on the gold standard. From 1922 a single bank issued notes, and since 1950 that has been the Central Bank of Costa Rica, which today issues polymer notes and a new family of coins.

Timeline

The eras

Cacao, first coins and paper (colonial times to 1850)

Metal coin was scarce from colonial times, to the point that cacao served as official money. After independence, Costa Rica struck its first coins in 1825 and decreed its mint in 1828, but output was never enough: foreign coins were countermarked and, from 1839, the State issued vouchers and later “national notes” to pay salaries and debts.

Banks and the peso (1858–1896)

The coffee boom brought banks of issue: the first in 1858 and, from 1863, the Banco Anglo Costarricense, among many short-lived others. Their notes were convertible into metal and accepted voluntarily. As silver lost value against gold, gold coin left circulation and none was struck between 1876 and 1897, so banknotes became the main means of payment.

The colón and the gold standard (1896–1922)

The 1896 reform created the colón on the gold standard and demonetized foreign silver. The 1900 Banking Law allowed several issuing banks. The First World War forced the suspension of note-for-gold conversion in 1914, which for the first time gave notes full legal-tender force; in 1922 issuing was concentrated in a single bank.

From the Central Bank to polymer (1950 to today)

Since 1950 the Central Bank of Costa Rica has been the sole issuer. In 2020 and 2021 it replaced paper notes with polymer ones, and since 2021 it has been renewing all coins with collectible series.

Sources

The history before 1950 is based on Del papel moneda a los billetes de banco en Costa Rica (Manuel Chacón Hidalgo, Central Bank of Costa Rica Museums Foundation, 2019), the Central Bank Museums’ study, which draws on archives and on the standard works of Tomás Soley and José Alberto Carranza. Dates from 1950 come from the Central Bank of Costa Rica’s website. The previous family of paper notes stopped being legal tender in 2022, according to the BCCR.

Questions people ask

When did Costa Rica start using the colón?

In 1896, with the monetary reform of Rafael Iglesias’s government, which created the colón, divided into 100 céntimos and based on the gold standard. Before that, the unit was the peso.

What were Costa Rica’s first coins?

The gold coins of the State of Costa Rica struck in 1825 at a provisional mint known as the “Ingenio de los Horcones”, in values of one onza, half onza, two escudos, one escudo and half escudo.

What was Costa Rica’s first banknote?

The first bank notes were those of the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica in 1858, in 1, 10, 20 and 50 pesos. Before that, from 1839, the State had issued vouchers that circulated as paper money.

Was cacao really used as money in Costa Rica?

Yes. It was used from the 17th century and made official money in 1709. One real of cacao was worth half a silver real.

When was the Central Bank of Costa Rica founded?

In 1950, as the only body authorized to issue money. Its first notes, in 1951, used Banco Nacional designs with the legend “Banco Central de Costa Rica” and “Serie Provisional”.

Related guides

Which Costa Rican coins are silver? — the silver from reales to 1924. Costa Rica’s new coins — today’s designs and quantities. Costa Rican banknotes by series — quantities, serial numbers and signatures.

← All guides