CRC / NAD

The Costa Rican colón is the official monetary unit of Costa Rica, issued by the Banco Central de Costa Rica. Introduced in 1896 to replace the peso, the colón is named after Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish) and is subdivided into 100 centimos, although centimo coins are no longer in circulation.

Banknotes are issued in denominations ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 colones and feature prominent national figures and landmarks. Due to persistent inflation, the colón has largely been replaced in everyday transactions by electronic payments, and many prices are quoted in thousands of colones. The symbol for the colón is ₡, and while the currency is legal tender throughout the country, Costa Ricans often refer to amounts in colloquial terms such as 'mil' (one thousand).