What Is the Costa Rican Colón (CRC)?

The Costa Rican colón (CRC) is the national currency of the Republic of Costa Rica. The currency was first issued in coin and paper form in 1896. One U.S. dollar was equal to about 546 CRC in July 2023.

Visitors to Costa Rica from the U.S. will find that U.S. dollars are as acceptable as t🍷he loc🔯al currency for local transactions.

Understanding the Costa Rican Colón (CRC)

The name of Costa Rica's currency honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish is Cristóbal Colón.

Columbus was the first European to visit Costa Rica. He did so on his final journey to the Americas in 1502. An unconfirmed legend claims that Columbus gave the coꦰuntry its name.​​​​​​​

History of the Costa Rican Colón

The Costa Rican colón was adopted as the national currency in 1896, about 70 years after Costa Rica and its Central American neighbors declared inde꧋pendence from Spain. The colón replaced the Costa Rican peso with a one-to-one exchange ratio. The prev😼ious peso currency, a legacy of the colonial era, was divisible into eight Spanish reales.

The colón was introduced at par to the peso, and the two currencies co-existed for a time. At first issue, gold coins ranging in denominations from two to 20 colones were issued along with silver 50 centimos coins. One hundred centimos equaled both one colón and, at the time, one peso. These coins were imprinted with the letters "G.C.R." for the national government. Paper peso and colón banknotes began to circulate in 1864 and 1896, respectively.

By the miꦑd-1930s, after the establishment of the International Bank of Costa Rica, the country began to issue coins worth one colón and 25 and 50 centimos. These featured an imprint reading B.I.C.R.

National Bank Currency Issues

The National Bank of Costa Rica issued its coins in 1937 with a "B.N.C.R." imprint. In 1951, the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) assumed responsibility for all currency issues. The bank expanded the range of denominations to include 20, 100, and 500 colones coins.

A handful of other�🥂� financial institutions issued banknotes over the first half of the 20th century until the BCCR became the sole issuer of the national currency.

Banknotes, as with coins, saw the range of denominations grow, and by 1997 they included 10,000 colón notes. The design for each denomination displays a portrait of a prominent Costa Rican on the front and a portrait of the country’s natural beauty and wildlife on the reverse.

About the Central Bank

The Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) manages national inflation and the colón's relationship to the U.S. dollar. Until 2006, the colón used a crawling peg system that maintained the exchange rate with꧙in a range deemed acceptable by the central bankers.

In January 2015, the bank announced the CRC would be allowed to float against the dollar and that the ꦚbank would intervene only in extraordinary circ෴umstances.

The Costa Rican Economy

The Republic of Costa Rica occupies a thin strip of land that borde꧑rs Nicaragua and Panama. The country is a stable democracy, which is unusual for this area of the globe.

The Republic declared independence from Spanish rule in 1821, then from the First Mexican Empire in 1823, and finally from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1838. Final recognition of the nation's independence came in 1850.

Main Industries

Today, Costa Rica’s main industries include agriculture (in particular coffee, bananas, and pinneapples), tourism, and electrical exports, with the service industry making up about 66% of the country’s total GDP as of 2021.

The economy is as stable as the government. However, Costa Rica has a growing foreign debt and budget deficit. The Republic also has to cope with growing 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:dollarization as local currency deposits in banks are r💙eplaced with foꦉreign money.

Foreign Presence

Costa Rica has a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:free trade zone, which has attracted many foreign companies. This tax-free area plays host to many businesses in the technology sector, including✃ Dell, IBM, Intel, ꧑and HP. 

According to the 2023 World Bank data, the Republic of Costa Rica has a 2.7% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth as of 2023, that is expected to grow to 3.1% in 2024 supported by Costa Rica’s dynamic exporting sectors.

The annual inflation rate in Costa Rica is as low as 0.88% (May 2023), the lowest since March 2021.

The Bottom Line

The Costa Rican colón (CRC) is the national currency of the Republic of Costa Rica, first issued in coin and paper form in 1896. The name "colón" comes from Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish). Banknotes currently circulating in Costa Rica come in denominations of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000. Coins come in seven denominations: 500, 100, 50, 25, 10, 5, and 1 colón.

Visitors will ꧑find that the U.S. dollar is widely accepted for local transactions, although the colón is preferred, especially in small buꦫsinesses.