Central Bank of Costa Rica
Two synthetic banknotes: 20 Colones in Tyvek® (1983) and 1,000 Colones in polymer (2011)
Twenty Colones · 1983
Series Z · Experimental Tyvek® · Cleto González Víquez
Historical and Issue Context
An experiment predating modern polymer:Long before the widespread adoption of the Guardian® substrate, Costa Rica tested Tyvek® —a high-density synthetic polyethylene developed by DuPont— as an alternative to traditional paper, in the same experimental period in which Haiti and the Isle of Man tested the same material.2
An instructive technical failure:Tyvek® proved unsuitable for circulation in humid tropical climates: the ink did not adhere properly to its non-porous surface, which led to an accelerated withdrawal of these bills and explains their current rarity among collectors.
Key Details Visible on the Banknote
- Obverse:portrait of Cleto González Víquez, former president of Costa Rica, alongside a vignette of his birthplace in Barva, with the inscription “Barva, cuna del prócer”.
- Reverse:Detailed illustration of the classic allegory of Justice, surrounded by civil figures.
- Intaglio engraving:executed by American Bank Note Company, with the ink relief characteristic of this printing house, experimentally adapted to the Tyvek substrate®.
- Color:obverse in sepia tones with palm tree motifs on the right; reverse in red ink on the allegorical illustration.
Thousand Colones · 2011
Series A · Braulio Carrillo Colina · Dry Forest
Historical and Issue Context
From Tyvek® to modern polymer:Almost three decades after the failed Tyvek experiment®, Costa Rica adopted Guardian laminated polymer® for its 2009 banknote family–2011, printed by Note Printing Australia —the same technology used by Chile, Malaysia and Brunei, with better resistance and ink adhesion than the experimental substrate of the eighties.
Key Details Visible on the Banknote
- Obverse:portrait of Braulio Carrillo Colina alongside the historic 1840 coat of arms of the State of Costa Rica.
- Reverse:landscape of the Dry Forest ecosystem, with a white-tailed deer and a guanacaste tree, the national tree of Costa Rica.
- Double transparent window:two completely transparent openings in the substrate, one with the silhouette of the country and another with a portrait in optical relief.
- Correlative numbering:consecutive pair with serial numbers A005341238 and A005341239, indicative of uncirculated banknotes preserved in sequence.
- Color:predominantly red and magenta tones, with pink underprinting on both sides.
Notes
1. Wikipedia, “Polymer banknote”: “DuPont Tyvek polymer notes were experimentally issued by Haiti, Costa Rica, and The Isle of Man, from 1982.”
2. Ditto: DuPont's Tyvek® was an early experiment prior to the development of the modern Guardian® polymer, with limited circulation due to its technical limitations in humid climates.
