Numismatic Museum
A Temporary Exhibition through our Economic History
By Franco Cartín Brenes

Traiga la leña pa’ vela... ¿Cuánto cobra? • Cinco pesos. • ¡Ave María gracia plena! ¡Los tres dulcísimos nombres! • Deje la jesuseadera; yo pido lo que yo quiero y usté ofrece lo que ofrezca, que usté manija su plata y yo manijo mi leña...
Mercando leña.
Aquileo J. Echeverría (1866-1909).

Soon after the Spanish arrived to Costa Rica and settled, coins, bills and the tickets have played an increasing important role in all commercial and familiar affairs.

Back in 1905, when Aquileo Echeverria wrote his famous Play of Manners “Buying firewood”; a firewood cartload cost the unspeakable sum of “cinco pesos”.But, how they were the “pesos”? How the old bills looked like? How were the Costa Rican currencies before? Underneath the Plaza de la Cultura (Culture’ Square), in the same building of the Gold Museum, next to the National Theatre, you can visit the Museum of Numismatist.

This same building lodges several spaces of cultural importance: The Numismatist Museum, the Gold Museum and the Temporary Exhibition Showrooms, for this season: The exhibition of Abstract Art, the exhibition of indigenous figures: “Women of mud” and the Temporary Exhibition of Numismatist.

Usually, the Museum offers a permanent space for this important selection of coins, currencies and coffee tickets, all year around is exhibited. But, due to improvements in the main Museum halls, they open this temporal display to show the process of coins manufacturing. These pieces of enormous artistic, economic and cultural value gather the Collection of Numismatist of the Central bank of Costa Rica and can easily be observed right there, next to the Central Avenue boulevard.

A trip through the daily life of the past. Thus, many visitors, tourists and students have commented about the temporary exhibition that is located on the first level of this cultural centre. The Temporary Exhibition of Numismatist displays details about the machinery used in the manufacture of the national currencies, from an historical perspective that approaches us the daily life of the Costa Rican as it was back in the XVI Century. From that time and up to 1949, the currencies were coined here, in the country, one of the sections of the old National Liquor Factory (Fábrica Nacional de Licores, FANAL), today, Centre of Culture and Ministry of Culture, few hundred meters away from the centre where the Exhibition of Numismatist is taking place.

Details of the minting process, elaborated notebooks with data of the payrolls and lists, checks wrote by hand and notebooks with accounts are some of the economic data of enormous historical interest that can be found in this exhibition. In addition, the exhibition of Numismatist presents the historical perspective of the Costa Rican monetary systems, from 1516 to the present time. Through 4,400 objects, including currencies, old bills, tickets of coffee and banana and other documents, the visitors can appreciate the monetary dynamics of our country.

About this matter investigations have been developed and soon will be published, some other material in already printed and can be found at libraries and souvenirs shops. Some of existing texts are: History of the Costa Rican Currency, Paper money: origin and function, the currencies type of Costa Rica, and Ticket Catalogue of Costa Rica.

The Museum’s Store. Through the time, this souvenirs store has acquired good fame and a very well known reputation. Here, you can appreciate a most interesting variety in indigenous jewellery: exclusive retorts and of an exquisite elaboration of the pre Columbian gold pieces that are exhibited in the halls of the museum. Also original indigenous crafts can be found, hand made by different natives groups that have inherited of their ancestors the expertise and attention to detail that shape day after day in their mud works and crafts from different parts of the country. Also, the visitor to the Museum and the showrooms can find a variety of museum’s souvenirs and referential publications of the temporary exhibitions. About the Museum of Numismatist in this store you may be able to observe a gorgeous collection of Commemorative Currencies and collection with which he will be able to thicken his private collection or to make a gift unforgettable.