# Costa Rican colón Canonical: https://web4.xpay.bi/en/wiki/wp-en-1356597/ Language: en Published: 2026-10-30T18:04:15.881Z Updated: 2026-10-30T18:04:15.881Z The colón (plural: colones; sign: ₡; code: CRC) is the currency of Costa Rica. It was named after Christopher Columbus, known as Cristóbal Colón in Spanish. A colón is divided into one hundred céntimos. ## Key facts ## Overview The colón (plural: colones; sign: ₡; code: CRC) is the currency of Costa Rica. It was named after Christopher Columbus, known as Cristóbal Colón in Spanish. A colón is divided into one hundred céntimos. ## Symbol The symbol for the colón is a capital letter "C" crossed by two diagonal strokes. The symbol is encoded at U+20A1 ₡ COLON SIGN and may be typed on many English language Microsoft Windows keyboards using the keystrokes ALT+8353. The colón sign is not to be confused with U+00A2 ¢ CENT SIGN (¢), or with the Ghanaian cedi, U+20B5 ₵ CEDI SIGN. Nonetheless, the commonly available cent symbol '¢' is frequently used locally to designate the colón in price markings and advertisements. ## History The colón was introduced in 1896, replacing the peso at par. The colón is divided into 100 céntimos, although, between 1917 and 1919, coins were issued using the name centavo for the 1/100 subunit of the colón. Colones were issued by a variety of banks in the first half of the twentieth century, but since 1951 have been produced solely by the Central Bank of Costa Rica. The currency was subject to a crawling peg against the United States dollar from 2006 to 2015, but has been floating within a band allowed by the Costa Rican central bank since then. ## First coins, 1897–1917 Because the colón replaced the peso at par, there was no immediate need for new coins in 1896. In 1897, gold 2, 5, 10 and 20 colones were issued, followed by silver 50 centimos, and followed by cupro-nickel 2 centimos in 1903 and silver 5 and 10 centimos in 1905. The 5 and 10 centimos bore the initials G.C.R., indicating that they were issues of the government. ## Centavo, 1917–1919 In 1917, coins were issued in denominations of 5 and 10 centavos rather than centimos. 50 centavo coins were minted but not issued (see below). All bore the G.C.R. initials. ## Issued by the Government, 1920–1941 The issuance of centimo coins by the government (still indicated by the initials G.C.R.) was resumed in 1920, with 5 and 10 centimos issued. In 1923, silver 25 and 50 centimos from the peso currency, along with the unissued 50 centavos from 1917 and 1918, were issued with counterstamps which doubled their values to 50 centimos and 1 colón. In 1925, silver 25 centimo coins were introduced. The last government issued coins were brass 10 centimos issued between 1936 and 1941. ## Issued by the Banco Internacional, 1935 In 1935, the International Bank of Costa Rica issued cupro-nickel coins in denominations of 25 and 50 centimos and 1 colón. These bore the initials B.I.C.R. ## Banco Nacional, 1937–1948 In 1937, the National Bank introduced coins in denominations of 25 and 50 centimos and 1 colón which bore the initials B.N.C.R. These were followed by 5 and 10 centimos in 1942 and 2 colones in 1948. ## Banco Central, 1951–present In 1951, the Central Bank took over coin issuance using the initials B.C.C.R. while introducing 5 and 10 centimo coins. These were followed by 1 and 2 colones in 1954, 50 centimos in 1965 and 25 centimos in 1967. In 1982–1983, 5 and 10 centimo coins were discontinued, the sizes of the 25 centimo to 2 colón coins were reduced and 5, 10 and 20 colón coins were introduced. Between 1995 & 1998, smaller, brass 1, 5 and 10 colón coins were introduced and coins for 25, 50 & 100 colones were added. 500 colones followed in 2003. Aluminium 5 and 10 colones were introduced in 2006. Coins of 1 colón are no longer found in circulation. In 2009 the larger, silver-coloured ₡5, ₡10 & ₡20 were gradually withdrawn leaving the small, lighter, ₡5 and ₡10 and the gold-coloured ₡5, ₡10, ₡25, ₡50, ₡100 & ₡500 coins circulating. At the end of 2019, the production of ₡5 coins ceased but remained in circulation. In 2021, a smaller bimetallic ₡500 coin was introduced to commemorate the bicentennial of Costa Rican independence. On July 1, 2025, the ₡50 and ₡500 coins of the old series were demonetized. The ₡5, ₡10, and ₡25 coins of the old series ceased to be legal tender on July 1, 2026, making the ₡10 coin the smallest tenderable amount in cash. ## Private bank issues, 1896–1914 Four private banks, the Banco Anglo–Costarricense, the Banco Comercial de Costa Rica, the Banco de Costa Rica and the Banco Mercantil de Costa Rica, issued notes between 1864 and 1917. The Banco Anglo–Costarricense was established in 1864 and issued notes from 1864 to 1917. It later became a state-owned bank and in 1994 went bankrupt and closed. Notes were issued in denominations of 1, 25, 50, and 100 pesos as well as 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 colones. Some 1, 5, 10 and 20 colones notes (unsigned and undated) were released in 1963 when the bank celebrated its 100th anniversary. Some had Muestra sin Valor ("sample without value") printed on them in order to nullify the legal tender status and to prevent people from selling them. Most, however, didn't have that printed on them, which makes it harder nowadays to find notes with the seal. The Banco de Costa Rica was established in 1890 and issued notes from 1890 to 1914. It is currently a state-owned bank. Notes were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 100 pesos as well as 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 colones. The Banco Comercial de Costa Rica issued notes between 1906 and 1914 in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 colones. The Banco Mercantil de Costa Rica issued notes between 1910 and 1916, also in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 colones. ## Government issues, 1897–1917 The government issued gold certificates in 1897 for 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 colones. Between 1902 and 1917, it issued silver certificates for 50 centimos, 1, 2, 50 and 100 colones. ## Banco Internacional, 1914–1936 In 1914, the Banco Internacional de Costa Rica introduced notes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 colones, to which 25 and 50 centimos, 1 and 2 colones were added in 1918. Although 25 centimos were not issued after 1919, the other denominations continued to be issued until 1936. After 1917, the Banco Internacional's notes were the only issued for circulation. ## Sources - Costa Rican colón · Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=1356597 Source: Wikipedia contributors — https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=1356597&oldid=1377713797 Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Adaptation notice: Reformatted for XPay; the source may be abridged, restructured or translated. Consult the cited revision for the original.