The Banco Central (Central Bank) confirmed on Monday, January 22, that the new ¢1,000 banknote in circulation is not counterfeit, as it has been reported on social networks, in particular, WhatsApp groups.
The Central Bank reassured the new series ‘B’ bank notes, that replace the older series ‘A’ are in fact real.
The new bills were put into circulation in December 2016, but only recently they have started to become more common and people have begun to notice.
The changes in series B with respect to A are:
- The relief in the image of the character (Braulio Carrillo) is perceived in the hair and in the clothing.
- The markings for blind people located on the upper right side of the front of the note is more sensitive to touch.
- The red color intensifies at the ends of the reverse and the orange hue of the background is suppressed.
- The date of issue, the signatures of the president and the manager of the Central Bank are updated with respect to those showing the series A tickets.
- The series of the note located in the upper right part of the front and the letter that precedes the numbers located in the upper part of the back change from “A” to “B”.
- The white border of the transparent window is thinner and a transparency is incorporated around the portrait of the character.
In addition to the above aspects, the ¢ 1,000 the ‘B’ banknote intensifies the fluorescence at the ends, on the upper part, and on the front face shield.
The ‘A’ banknotes were released into circulation in 2011 and the Central Bank says it has never seen any instances of falsification up to now.
For the complete list of Costa Rica’s banknotes in circulation, click here.
Trivia:
- Did you know that the ¢1,000 colones is commonly referred to as “un rojo” (a red) for its color?
- The bills in circulation are different in size, the larger the denomination, the wider it is: ie, the ¢1,000 is 125 x67; the ¢2,000 is 132 x67; the ¢5,000 is 139 x67; the ¢10,000 is 146 x67; the ¢20,000 is 149 x67; and the ¢50,000 is 153 x67.