If you still have socked away ¢5.000 and ¢10.000 notes of the “old” family of notes the Central Bank has set a date of December 31 when they lose their commercial value, meaning they cannot be used any longer as legal tender for trade.
After December 31 the old notes will only be accepted at banks and financial institutions until May 31, 2013, after whichthey can only be exchanged at the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) – Central Bank – in Downtown San José.
The “toucan” (¢5.000) went into circulation in 1991, while the blue ¢10.000 was introduced in 1998. Both notes were replaced for the new yellow and green notes, respectively.
Old ¢5.000
Old ¢10.000
Click here for images of the new notes in circulation.