Just posted some pics of samples from my Costa Rican collection. http://www.cointalk.com/members/jlblonde/albums/costa-rican-collection/
Some cool pieces there. The 1935 and 1937 cupro-nickel coins were still circulating when I was there in 1977, but the rest were long gone. I stayed with a family that ran a bakery, and they'd pull anything that looked the slightest bit different.
Interesting. I thought the early issues would have been demonetized by then. Especially considering that they made them in different metals (ie: Stainless steel) in the 1950's. Seems strange that Costa Rica, being the only stable government in Central America, would have such a sporadic issuance of circulating coins even in bad economic times.
Modern day Costa Rica and the previous Central American Republic made some of my favorite coins. Can you tell me more about this piece in your collection?
Don't know much about it other than an old Costa Rican man who had it said he used them on a plantation's little general store. I found it listed on a token website which had it numbered as Bs24 and R-CR16, circa 1960, Value $4.00 starting in Fine condition. Here's the Obv and Rev side together.
Thanks for the info. I'm always learning things at CT! I recently posted this photo depicting my new Central American Republic 2 Real. Also, here are some coins that were counterstamped by Costa Rica to make them legal tender in the re-established country of Costa Rica. The last photo is a 1923 1-Colon counterstamp on a 50 cent coin. There are many interesting coins that originate from Costa Rica.
Stainless steel and cupronickel circulated alongside each other when I was there in '77 because the two greatly resemble each other. However, the brass pieces that were made in the 40s were gone; I never saw a single one in circulation. The main reason the coins were issued sporadically is low demand; the population of the country is less than 5 million even today. The token is also cool; there are apparently quite a number of such pieces, and they are quite collectible.
