Colón Coins Updated for Costa Rica

The Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), as part of its mandate to keep businesses and the public informed, published the schedule for the entry and exit of coins to and from circulation for the year on in February. The new colón coin series shows different designs that allows each denomination to be readily identified and distinguished from the old series by the public. The coins will all be smaller and lighter, and when the coins are placed vertically on top of each other they will form a geometric shape similar to a cone due to the difference in the diameter of each coin. 

The update to the currency series was agreed by the BCCR Board of Directors on 11 November 2020, while the actual re-design was agreed on 12 July 2022. BCCR will issue an official announcement in advance of each release of the new ₡10, ₡25, ₡50, ₡100 and ₡500 circulating coins. The ₡5 coin was demonetised on 1 January 2020, due to inadequate recirculation and elevated costs of production. At the time of demonetisation, there were approximately 715 million ₡5 coins in circulation and to redeem them after 2019, they had to be returned to the central bank.