Banco Central Exchanges
Old Coins And Bills For
New
While hoarding coins due
to their value goes back
to the beginning of
coinage, the Banco
Central de Costa Rica (BCCR)
- Central Bank - has
come up with a plan to
collect all those old
coins and notes that are
still in circulation and
trade them for new
issues.
According to the BCCR
treasuer, Marvin
Alvarado, the Central
Bank will receive 5, 10,
25 and 50 (centimos*)
and ˘1 and ˘2 colon
coins. These are all
coins that have lost
value in circulation and
are not accepted at any
retail store or even the
state and private banks.
In addition the BCCR
will receiving notes of
˘5, ˘10, ˘20, ˘50, ˘100
and ˘500 colones.
Alvarado explained that
there will be one
special cashier on the
first floor of the
Central Bank office
located across the
street of the Banco
Nacional in downtown San
José, where the old
coins and bills will be
accepted for trade
between 9:30am and
4:00pm.
The Central Bank has
decided to accept the
old currency in trade
for new after reports of
banks not accepting
them.
Alvarado explained that
the coins and bills,
though out of
circulation, are still
legal tender and though
retailers may not accept
for payments, banks are
obligated to do.
The case in hand is that
of a Banco Nacional
customer who could not
deposit her ˘1 colon
coins. The Banco
Nacional later stated in
a press release that the
refusal was due to human
error and that there
bank had no policy
restricting its
acceptance.
* centimos is 1/10th of
a colon
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