As a colony of Spain and even afterward, Costa Rica used the peso as its primary monetary unit. As the country developed its independence and government, it gradually switched to a unique currency known as the colon, which it still uses today. The monetary unit was named in honor of the discoveries made by Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish is "Cristobal Colon." The plural form of the unit is technically "colones" though English-speakers often refer to them as simply "colons."
Colons come in both coins and bills. Coins are minted in increments of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 colones; the most common bills are found in 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 increments. Like other nations, Costa Rica prints famous and historic icons on its money. The 1,000 colones bill features a past minister of commerce named Tomas Soley; the 5,000 colones bill is emblazoned with an indigenous tucan displayed in its natural jungle habitat; the 10,000 bill is reserved for the famous teacher Emma Gamboa. The other bills and coins also feature natural and public figures from Costa Rica's history.
There are a number of slang terms used to refer to certain bills and coins. "Tejas," for instance, means 100 colones; "cinco tejas" means 500 colones, often referring to the coin. "Un Rojo" is the designation given to the 1,000 colones bill, and "un tucan" refers to the 5,000 colones bill.
Costa Rica is both very used to and highly adept at dealing with American dollars. While exchanging other types of currency can sometimes take longer, there are clear and widely recognized rules for dealing with dollar and its exchange rate. A system known as the decaying peg is used, in which the current value of the dollar vs. the colon is bolstered by 3.3 colones, a value essentially added to whatever the current exchange rate is.
The colon has experienced slowing inflation for the past 20 years or so, leading to a significant difference between its value and that of the dollar. In the tourist-intensive regions of Costa Rica, the dollar is often accepted, but outside these areas tourists should have a good idea of how much the dollar is worth, unless they have already converted to colones. The exchange rate, which is constantly changing, was around 580 colones to $1 in late September 2009.
