Christopher Columbus visited Costa Rica during his fourth voyage in 1502. The country received its name because of the gold mines that were supposed to reside in Costa Rica ("rich coast"). Costa Rica was part of the Vice-Royalty of New Spain before becoming part of the Central American Republic in 1823. Costa Rica became a Free State on September 8, 1824 and became the Republic of Costa Rica on August 31, 1838.
As part of the Vice-Royalty of New Spain, Spanish Escudos (XESE) were used, and the Central American Escudo (XCAE) was used while Costa Rica was part of the Federation from 1824 to 1838. The Escudo was divisible into 2 Pesos and 16 Reales. The first coins were minted in Costa Rica in 1825 while it was part of the Central American Federation, and it continued to issue coins for the Federation until 1850. The first coins with Costa Rica on them were issued in 1842. Foreign coins were also counterstamped to increase the circulation of coins.
After gaining its independence, Costa Rica introduced the Peso (CRP) as its medium of exchange. The Peso was decimalized in 1864. The Colon was adopted on October 26, 1896 with 1 Colon equal to 1 Peso, and divisible into 100 Centimos. With the adoption of the Colon, Costa Rica adopted the gold standard. The Colon was issued by four private banks until November 24, 1914, and by the Banco Internacional de Costa Rica after 1914. The Banco Internacional was reconstituted as the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica n January 1937, and as the Banco Central de Costa Rica in January 1950. |
