The Central Bank of Costa Rica announced that, from 1 July 2026, CRC 5, CRC 10 and CRC 25 coins of the previous design will no longer be valid as a means of payment and will therefore be unusable for commercial transactions. Holders will be able to exchange or deposit these coins through the country’s financial intermediaries, including commercial banks, cooperatives, mutual associations and others. The old-design CRC 10 and CRC 25 coins will be withdrawn from circulation and replaced by new coins under the new monetary cone. To support the replacement, 28 million new CRC 10 coins and 10 million new CRC 25 coins are already in circulation, and the central bank holds a further 115 million CRC 10 coins and 127 million CRC 25 coins in custody for release as needed. The CRC 5 coin will be fully withdrawn; the central bank had previously announced it would stop minting the denomination from 1 January 2020 because production costs exceeded face value. From July 2026, the new CRC 10 coin will become the smallest denomination in the new monetary cone.
Central Bank of Costa Rica 2026-01-28
Central Bank of Costa Rica ends legal tender status of old-design CRC 5, CRC 10 and CRC 25 coins from 1 July 2026
The Central Bank of Costa Rica will invalidate CRC 5, CRC 10, and CRC 25 coins of the previous design as legal tender from 1 July 2026. These coins can be exchanged or deposited through financial intermediaries. The CRC 5 coin will be fully withdrawn, while new CRC 10 and CRC 25 coins are already in circulation to replace the old designs.