Timeline

• 08.07.1709
• Governor's decree on the use of cocoa beans as small change substitute; effective immediately (?)
  - around 1728: Establishment of a rate of 100 cocoa beans = 1 Real (silver).
• 19.03.1824
• Parliamentary resolution of the Central American Federation on the issuance of coins in the name of the Federation (and the ban of further issuance of colonial coinage), the Spanish colonial bimetallic standard was continued; effective immediately
  - 27.10.1824: Ratification of the Central American coinage law for Costa Rican coins within the Central American Republic; effective 29.06.1825 (by ordinance of 20.05.1825).
• 13.10.1828
• Ordinance on the foundation of the mint in San José; operations began on 02.01.1829
  - A provisional mint operated by the "Ingenio de Metales San José de los Horcones" had opened on 19.02.1825 but produced only trial strikes.

Timeline

• 10.12.1839
• Presidential decree [No. 12] on general state finances, $13-17 regulated the issuance of Costa Rican state paper money and gold and silver coins; effective 01.01.1840 (?).
  - 20.04.1842: Presidential decree [No. 50], revising decree [No. 16] of 21.04.1840, on the production of a gold coin of 1 Escudo and a silver coin of ½ Real; effective immediately.
  - 26.03.1843: Presidential decree [No. 5] on the revaluation of the Onza de Oro (8 Escudos) from 16 to 17 Pesos; effective immediately.
  - 27.03.1843: Presidential decree [No. 6] on the demonetization and exchange within 2 months of the golden Escudo coin of 1842; effective immediately.
  - 10.02.1847: Presidential decree [No. ?] on the production of a silver coin of 1 Real (on occasion of the new Republican constitution of 10.02.1847); effective immediately (?).
• 1841-1849
• Circulation of foreign coins with and without counter-stamping:
  - 19.11.1841: Presidential decree [No. 20] on the counter-stamping of Peruvian and Honduran silver coins (stamp: radiating 6-pointed star, the coins were also punched, the punched-out piece was used to pay for the minting work), subsequently applied to all foreign silver coins; effective immediately.
  - 14.10.1845: Presidential decree [No. 46] on the circulation of full-weighted Peso-sized US, Spanish, Granadine and French silver coins without counter-stamping; effective immediately
  - 12.11.1845: Presidential decree [No. 53] on the counter-stamping of foreign silver coins (double-sided stamp: value indication under liberty head / liberty tree with validation); effective immediately.
  - 15.10.1846: Presidential decree [No. 102] on the counter-stamping of Spanish colonial "macuquina" coinage (double-sided stamp: value indication next to liberty tree, surrounded by validation / Central American seal) and demonetization of unvalidated coins; effective 01.11.1846.
  - 27.09.1848: Presidential decree [No. 146] on the circulation of British sovereigns at a rate of 5 Pesos; effective immediately (?).
  - 09.07.1849: Presidential decree [No. 32] on the demonetization of Spanish colonial "macuquina" coinage and exchange within 30 days (extended to 60 days by decree [No. 40] of 13.08.1849) into regular coins; effective immediately.
  - 22.11.1849: Presidential decree [No. 53] on the counter-stamping of foreign silver coins, all previously counter-stamped coins had to be counter-stamped again (double-sided stamp: lion surrounded by validation / Central American seal); effective immediately.
• 20.07.1849
• Presidential decree [No. 53] on a revised gold-to-silver ratio (the silver fineness was initially stated as 9 deniers, corrected to 10 deniers 20 grains in December 1849); effective immediately
• 11.12.1863
• Law [No. 42] on the decimalization of the currency in the existing standard; effective immediately:
  - Full-weighted Onza de Oro coins were revalued to 17¼ Pesos while the fractions remained rated at 17 Pesos per Onza.
  - Issuance of coins and state paper money began on 01.01.1865.
• 01.04.1871
• Law [No. 12] on the transition to the French gold standard; effective immediately.
  - 08.03.1880: Law [No. 3] on the issuance of new silver coins; effective immediately
  - 26.08.1873: Rating of the former gold coins as 10 Pesos (1871) = 11 Pesos (1863).
• 20.10.1884
• Agreement [Contrato Soto-Ortuño] between the government and the "Union Bank" (est. 15.04.1877), after 17.11.1890 renamed to "Bank of Costa Rica", on the exclusive issuance privilege for paper money, removing legal tender status from all other private paper money; effective immediately (?).
  - 25.09.1896: Presidential decree [No. 4] on the revocation of the Soto-Ortuño agreement and establishment of a new agreement [Contrato Quirós-Coronado] with the Bank of Costa Rica as issuer of the state paper money; effective immediately.
  - 11.08.1900: Presidential decree [No. 29] on the termination of the Quirós-Coronado agreement; effective 31.12.1901.
• 1889-1896
• Circulation of foreign subsidiary coins with counter-stamping:
  - 04.04.1889: Agreement on the import and counter-stamping of Colombian ½ Pesos in silver (double-sided stamp: lion surrounded by validity note / Costa Rican coat of arms).
  - 05.06.1896: Presidential decree [No. 3] on the demonetization and exchange within 20 days of the counter-stamped Colombian subsidiary coins.

Valuation Regimes

• 1849-1896
• Metallic currency based on circulating gold and silver coins. Base weight was initially the Castilian mark / 8 ounces / 8 octaves / 72 grains at 230.047 grams. Metric units were introduced in 1873.

Timeline

• 24.10.1896
• Law [No. 3] on the revision of the gold standard; effective immediately
• 02.01.1897
• Start of issuance of gold certificates (as substitute for the gold coins that were not yet available).
  - The former gold coins remained current as 1 Peso (1871) = 2 Colones; the silver and base metal subsidiary coins of 1880 remained current on par, i.e. 50 Centavos (1880) = 50 Céntimos (1896).
  - The gold certificates were gradually demonetized and exchanged into gold until 31.12.1900.
• 25.04.1900
• Law [No. 1] on the establishment of the paper money issuance by commercial banks; effective immediately.
  - Issuing banks: Anglo-Costa Rican Bank (est. 01.07.1863), Commercial Bank of Costa Rica (est. 17.05.1905), Bank of Costa Rica (est. 15.04.1877; after expiry of the exclusivity agreement on 01.01.1902), Mercantile Bank of Costa Rica (est. 13.06.1908).
• 04.05.1900
• Law [No. 2] on the legal tender status of foreign gold coins; effective immediately. Rating:
  - US Dollar = 10 Colones; British Pound = 10.20 Colones; French Franc = 0.40 Colón; German Reichsmark = 0.50 Colón.
• 14.08.1900
• Law [No. 4] on the issuance of new silver subsidiary coins (fineness 0.900); effective immediately.
  - 01.11.1902: Start of issuance of silver certificates (exchangeable into silver subsidiary coins at 1 Colón of 20 grams 0.900 silver).
• 31.08.1917
• Law [No. 41] on the restoration of the gold standard and issuance of new subsidiary coins (abolishing the 0.900 silver issues); effective immediately.
  - The subsidiary coins of 1917-1920 are denominated "Centavo" although the legal denomination was "Céntimo".
  - 10.07.1923: Law [No. 93] on the re-issuance of former Costa Rican subsidiary coins of 50, 25 Cents (in 0.900 silver) counter-stamped to double the denomination.
• 19.05.1922
• Law [No. 4] on the exclusive issuance privilege for the International Bank of Costa Rica (established 30.12.1914 as state-owned commercial bank by law [No. 4] of 09.10.1914; effective 10.10.1922
• 05.11.1936
• Law [No. 16] on the reorganization of the International Bank and name change into "National Bank of Costa Rica"; effective immediately
• 28.01.1950
• Law [No. 1130] on the establishment of the Central Bank of Costa Rica by extracting the note issuing departments of the National Bank of Costa Rica (which continued as commercial bank); effective 01.01.1950 (retroactive)
  - 23.04.1953: Law [No. 1552] on the (definitive) constitution of the Central Bank; effective immediately.

Valuation Regimes

• 1896-1922
• Fixed rate against gold, the gold standard was suspended between 14.09.1914 and 31.08.1917.
• 1922-1980
• Fixed rate against US Dollar; on 13.10.1948 a multi-tier exchange rate structure was established by laws [No. 215 & 216]
• 1980-
• Variable rate, the multi-tier structure was abolished on 01.03.1992