Commemorative banknotes of Costa Rica


Commemorative banknotes of Costa Rica of the Costa Rican colón have been issued by the Central Bank of Costa Rica since its creation in 1950. The following is a list of the different issues printed on all the currently circulating notes along with a short description.

Table of contents

150 Years of Independence

In 1971, to celebrate the 150 years of the independence of Costa Rica, the Central Bank issued a limited number of banknotes printed by Thomas de la Rue, London, with an overprint seal which reads “150 AÑOS DE INDEPENDENCIA 1821–1971”.
ImageDenominationSerieIssue dateSerial numberAgreementSignature - Presidente de la Junta DirectivaSignature - Gerente del BancoRef
5 ColonesD24 May 19716500001 – 7500000#16Hernán Garrón SalazarClaudio A. Volio Guardia
10 ColonesC24 May 19714500001 – 5000000#16Hernán Garrón SalazarClaudio A. Volio Guardia
50 ColonesB24 May 19712450001 – 3000000#16Hernán Garrón SalazarClaudio A. Volio Guardia
100 ColonesD24 May 19711100001 – 1700000#16Hernán Garrón SalazarClaudio A. Volio Guardia
500 ColonesA24 May 1971140001 – 170000#16Hernán Garrón SalazarClaudio A. Volio Guardia
1,000 ColonesA24 May 1971210001 – 270000#16Hernán Garrón SalazarClaudio A. Volio Guardia

XXV Anniversary of the Central Bank

In 1975, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Central Bank issued a 5 Colones D series note, printed by Thomas de la Rue, London, with an overprint seal which reads “XXV ANIVERSARIO BANCO CENTRAL DE COSTA RICA 1950–1975”.
ImageDenominationSerieIssue dateSerial numberAgreementSignature - Presidente de la Junta DirectivaSignature - Gerente del BancoRef
5 ColonesD20 March 19756500001 – 7500000#5Bernal Jiménez MongeAlvaro Vargas Echeverría

Centenario Banco de Costa Rica

In 1978, on the occasion of the centennial of Banco de Costa Rica, the Central Bank put on circulation a limited number of banknotes printed by Thomas de La Rue, London, with a commemorative inscription on the reverse which reads “1877–CENTENARIO BANCO DE COSTA RICA–1977”, eliminated in the next series. This note continued to be issued by the Central Bank until 1986.
ImageDenominationSerieIssue dateSerial numberAgreementSignature - Presidente EjecutivoSignature - Gerente del BancoRef
50 ColonesD30 October 1978#9Rolando Ramírez PaniaguaRigoberto Navarro Meléndez
50 ColonesD30 April 1979#7Rolando Ramírez PaniaguaRigoberto Navarro Meléndez
50 ColonesD18 March 1980#14Rigoberto Navarro Meléndez
50 ColonesD2 April 1981#21Rigoberto Navarro Meléndez
50 ColonesD18 May 1982#1Carlos Manuel Castillo MoralesRigoberto Navarro Meléndez
50 ColonesD28 August 1984#4Marco Antonio López AgüeroOlivier Castro Pérez
50 ColonesD22 November 1984#2Porfirio Morera BatresOlivier Castro Pérez
50 ColonesD20 March 1985#4Rodrigo Bolaños ZamoraOlivier Castro Pérez
50 ColonesD2 April 1986#3Eduardo Lizano FaithRodrigo Bolaños Zamora

L Anniversary of the Central Bank

In 2000, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Central Bank issued a limited number of banknotes printed by Thomas de la Rue, London, with an overprint seal which reads “50 BCCR ANIVERSARIO”.
ImageDenominationSerieIssue dateSerial numberAgreementSignature - Presidente EjecutivoSignature - Gerente del BancoRef
500 ColonesD*6 July 199402001001 – 02011000#19Carlos Manuel CastilloCarlos Muñoz
1,000 ColonesD*23 September 1998023955001 – 023965000#15Eduardo Lizano FaithJosé Rafael Brenes
2,000 ColonesA*30 July 199704825001 – 04835000#13Rodrigo BolañosCarlos Muñoz
5,000 ColonesC*24 February 1999031001 – 041000#13Eduardo Lizano FaithJosé Rafael Brenes
10,000 ColonesA*30 July 19974830001 – 4840000#13Rodrigo BolañosCarlos Muñoz

Note: Every banknote of this serie kept the agreement number and the signatures of the original issues. The only change was the commemorative seal.