Notes on the circulating currency of Costa Rica (or: How I spent mywinter vacation)

Hi all,

Just got back from a two-week trip to Costa Rica. I didn't do
anything directly numismatic-related on the vacation- I was too busy
watching the birds and other wild critters. There is apparently a
small numismatic museum, as well as a Museum of Gold, at the Central
Bank in San Jose, but I didn't get a chance to visit it. I did,
however, use money during the trip, so here are my observations:

1. Costa Rica's currency is the colon. There is an accent over the
second O, it is named after Christopher Colombus (Cristobal Colon in
Spanish), and... oh, go ahead and make the obvious puns. The exchange
rate is around 550 colones per US dollar. Theoretically, there are
also centimos (1/100 of a colon) but due to inflation no actual
centimo coins are currently circulating.
2. Costa Rica is heavily dependent on tourism, and the majority of
those tourists are from the US, so the US dollar is widely accepted
wherever tourists are likely to go. In fact, many tourist-oriented
businesses list prices in dollars only, not even bothering to show the
equivalent in colones. I found that it is often a good idea to pay
cash in colones, even when the price is listed in dollars. Merchants
generally calculate at a very favorable exchange rate, sometimes even
better than the official rate! Maybe they are just so stunned that a
tourist is actually using the local currency that they forget to check
the bank rates.
3. Those who complain that current US coins are unimaginative should
avert their eyes from Costa Rica's coins, lest they suffer a fit of
apoplexy. All coins feature exactly the same design, only the
denomination changes. To make it worse, all the most common coins are
also the same gold-colored bronze alloy, which tarnishes quickly in
circulation.
4. In contrast to the coins, the bills are colorful, and many feature
attractive designs of wildlife. I especially like the 2,000 colones
note, which shows a dolphin and a hammerhead shark. The largest
circulating note is 10,000 colones (a bit under $20), so if you need a
large amount of cash you can accumulate quite a wad of notes.
5. The smallest coin usually encountered is 25 colones; coins of 25,
50, 100, and 500 colones are all common. For smaller coins, there are
sometimes several older versions still floating around. I somehow
ended up with three different varieties of 10 colones coins: a large
copper-nickel piece dated 1992, a small bronze from 1999, and a small
aluminum from 2008.
6. If you want to feel rich, try using an ATM in Costa Rica and check
your balance in colones. Probably the easiest way to feel like a
millionaire.
7. The 100 colones coin seems to accumulate quickly in a tourist's
change pile. (I think they breed at night.) If anyone has a great
desire for an average circulated 100 colones coin, let me know and I'd
be happy to send you one.

-Robert A. DeRose, Jr.
(sunburned but happy)

wrote:
Hi all,

Just got back from a two-week trip to Costa Rica. I didn't do
anything directly numismatic-related on the vacation- I was too busy
watching the birds and other wild critters. There is apparently a
small numismatic museum, as well as a Museum of Gold, at the Central
Bank in San Jose, but I didn't get a chance to visit it. I did,
however, use money during the trip, so here are my observations:

1. Costa Rica's currency is the colon. There is an accent over the
second O, it is named after Christopher Colombus (Cristobal Colon in
Spanish), and... oh, go ahead and make the obvious puns. The exchange
rate is around 550 colones per US dollar. Theoretically, there are
also centimos (1/100 of a colon) but due to inflation no actual
centimo coins are currently circulating.
2. Costa Rica is heavily dependent on tourism, and the majority of
those tourists are from the US, so the US dollar is widely accepted
wherever tourists are likely to go. In fact, many tourist-oriented
businesses list prices in dollars only, not even bothering to show the
equivalent in colones. I found that it is often a good idea to pay
cash in colones, even when the price is listed in dollars. Merchants
generally calculate at a very favorable exchange rate, sometimes even
better than the official rate! Maybe they are just so stunned that a
tourist is actually using the local currency that they forget to check
the bank rates.
3. Those who complain that current US coins are unimaginative should
avert their eyes from Costa Rica's coins, lest they suffer a fit of
apoplexy. All coins feature exactly the same design, only the
denomination changes. To make it worse, all the most common coins are
also the same gold-colored bronze alloy, which tarnishes quickly in
circulation.
4. In contrast to the coins, the bills are colorful, and many feature
attractive designs of wildlife. I especially like the 2,000 colones
note, which shows a dolphin and a hammerhead shark. The largest
circulating note is 10,000 colones (a bit under $20), so if you need a
large amount of cash you can accumulate quite a wad of notes.
5. The smallest coin usually encountered is 25 colones; coins of 25,
50, 100, and 500 colones are all common. For smaller coins, there are
sometimes several older versions still floating around. I somehow
ended up with three different varieties of 10 colones coins: a large
copper-nickel piece dated 1992, a small bronze from 1999, and a small
aluminum from 2008.
6. If you want to feel rich, try using an ATM in Costa Rica and check
your balance in colones. Probably the easiest way to feel like a
millionaire.
7. The 100 colones coin seems to accumulate quickly in a tourist's
change pile. (I think they breed at night.) If anyone has a great
desire for an average circulated 100 colones coin, let me know and I'd
be happy to send you one.

-Robert A. DeRose, Jr.
(sunburned but happy)


Thanks for the interesting report :-)

--
Civis Romanus Sum

On Dec 15, 9:09*am, wrote:

I too have just returned with a sunburn, but from Jamaica. The
exchange rate is 85:1 in some places, 80:1 at others. Of course I made
the mistake of changing $400 at the 80:1 rate, receiving $32,000.
Although there is now a $5000 bill, nobody seemed to have any, so I
ended up with a lot of $1000 bills. The smallest bill is $50, with
$100 on the rare side, $500 most prevalent, and the coin most often
encountered is the $20, sometimes you see $10, and rarely $5 and $1. I
read 3 books on the beach and used a $50 for a bookmark. Hell, buying
a bookmark costs more than that!

I have been vacationing in Jamaica for 35 years and have seen lots of
changes in their monetary system. When I first went there the exchange
rate was 88¢ Jamaican to the $1 US, the smallest bill was 50¢, with
$2, $5, and the largest bill was $10. Coins were 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, and
for a few years, 25¢. You could often get a better rate in the parking
lot than in the bank, if you wanted to take the chance of spending
some time in jail for illegal money exchange. For many years the
exchange rate was 1.25:1 but you could get 2:1 if you had US$100
bills. You couldn't get the same rate if you used 5 $20's. Then
Jamaica floated their currency with money auctions every Tuesday and
Thursday. That was when the exchange rate went crazy. Jamaica then
came out with the $100 bill, followed by the $20 and $50, in that
order.

What is interesting to note is that the actual value of money is now
approximately 100X what it used to be, ie the $50 bill is about what a
50¢ bill, the $100 bill is worth a little more than the $1 bill, the
$1000 bill is worth about what the $10 bill, etc. Dinner for 2 now
costs about $5000, a beer about $300. Lots of fun playing poker there
tho. "I will see your $500 and raise you $1000".

Jud the Jamaican

Jud wrote:
On Dec 15, 9:09 am, wrote:

I too have just returned with a sunburn, but from Jamaica. The
exchange rate is 85:1 in some places, 80:1 at others. Of course I made
the mistake of changing $400 at the 80:1 rate, receiving $32,000.
Although there is now a $5000 bill, nobody seemed to have any, so I
ended up with a lot of $1000 bills. The smallest bill is $50, with
$100 on the rare side, $500 most prevalent, and the coin most often
encountered is the $20, sometimes you see $10, and rarely $5 and $1. I
read 3 books on the beach and used a $50 for a bookmark. Hell, buying
a bookmark costs more than that!

I have been vacationing in Jamaica for 35 years and have seen lots of
changes in their monetary system. When I first went there the exchange
rate was 88¢ Jamaican to the $1 US, the smallest bill was 50¢, with
$2, $5, and the largest bill was $10. Coins were 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, and
for a few years, 25¢. You could often get a better rate in the parking
lot than in the bank, if you wanted to take the chance of spending
some time in jail for illegal money exchange. For many years the
exchange rate was 1.25:1 but you could get 2:1 if you had US$100
bills. You couldn't get the same rate if you used 5 $20's. Then
Jamaica floated their currency with money auctions every Tuesday and
Thursday. That was when the exchange rate went crazy. Jamaica then
came out with the $100 bill, followed by the $20 and $50, in that
order.

What is interesting to note is that the actual value of money is now
approximately 100X what it used to be, ie the $50 bill is about what a
50¢ bill, the $100 bill is worth a little more than the $1 bill, the
$1000 bill is worth about what the $10 bill, etc. Dinner for 2 now
costs about $5000, a beer about $300. Lots of fun playing poker there
tho. "I will see your $500 and raise you $1000".

Jud the Jamaican

I love Jamecka!

Sounds of laughter everywhere, and the dancing girls swing to and fro,
I must declare my heart is there, though I've been from Maine to Mexico.

But, Jud, you had to leave a little girl in Kingston town, did you not? 8)

James the Heartbreaker

In article , Jud wrote:
On Dec 15, 9:09=A0am, wrote:

I too have just returned with a sunburn, but from Jamaica. The
exchange rate is 85:1 in some places, 80:1 at others. Of course I made
the mistake of changing $400 at the 80:1 rate, receiving $32,000.
Although there is now a $5000 bill, nobody seemed to have any, so I
ended up with a lot of $1000 bills. The smallest bill is $50, with
$100 on the rare side, $500 most prevalent, and the coin most often
encountered is the $20, sometimes you see $10, and rarely $5 and $1. I
read 3 books on the beach and used a $50 for a bookmark. Hell, buying
a bookmark costs more than that!

I have been vacationing in Jamaica for 35 years and have seen lots of
changes in their monetary system. When I first went there the exchange
rate was 88=A2 Jamaican to the $1 US, the smallest bill was 50=A2, with
$2, $5, and the largest bill was $10. Coins were 1=A2, 5=A2, 10=A2, 20=A2, =
and
for a few years, 25=A2. You could often get a better rate in the parking
lot than in the bank, if you wanted to take the chance of spending
some time in jail for illegal money exchange. For many years the
exchange rate was 1.25:1 but you could get 2:1 if you had US$100
bills. You couldn't get the same rate if you used 5 $20's. Then
Jamaica floated their currency with money auctions every Tuesday and
Thursday. That was when the exchange rate went crazy. Jamaica then
came out with the $100 bill, followed by the $20 and $50, in that
order.

What is interesting to note is that the actual value of money is now
approximately 100X what it used to be, ie the $50 bill is about what a
50=A2 bill, the $100 bill is worth a little more than the $1 bill, the
$1000 bill is worth about what the $10 bill, etc. Dinner for 2 now
costs about $5000, a beer about $300. Lots of fun playing poker there
tho. "I will see your $500 and raise you $1000".

Jud the Jamaican





reminds me of heinlein's comments about inflation made during the 70's mess.
$1 hamburgers? brother, we're headed for $100 hamburgers! but it doesn't
matter as long as there's enough dollars and hamburgers.
i do miss him and not getting a new book every year.
happy ho ho's to everyone if i forget later. this is a group with a human
face.