Abstract: The coins of Costa Rica include a variety of plant illustrations, ranging from a palm tree (Attalea rostrata ?) on the first known gold coin (1825), to a marine green algae (Caulerpa prolifera ?) on a silver commemorative piece of 1974. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) seeds were legalized for use as currency in 1709. The national tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), and the national flower (Guarianthe skinneri) an orquid, were both represented in commemorative coins of 1975, and again the orchid in a silver piece of 1983. Coffee (Coffea arabica) and tobacc...
(read more)