NNP

I just got back from a (wonderful!) week-long vacation in Costa Rica. Wednesday morning and early afternoon, the day before I returned to the States, I visited the Museo Numismatico of the Banco Central de Costa Rica, in San Jose. I highly recommend the experience. I only wish I'd scheduled the visit earlier in my vacation, because by that time I was tired out from the beach, the clubs, walking around the city, etc.

I spent an enjoyable two hours or so exploring the bank's numismatic exhibits, and if I'd had more energy I would have moved on to the Gold Museum (located in the same complex), to study its collections of pre-Columbian gold artifacts.

I learned a good deal about Costa Rican coins, paper money, and coffee tokens in particular, and I also picked up a few new-to-me Spanish numismatic words.

I bought seven books at the museum. The first six, in no particular order:

• El Papel Moneda, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo
• La Moneda en Costa Rica, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo
• Gráfica en el Papel Moneda, 1858 - 1936, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo and Ileana Alvarado Venegas
• La Casa de Moneda de Costa Rica, 1828 - 1949, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo
• Resellos de Costa Rica: Costa Rican Counterstamps, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo
• Monedas de Costa Rica: Reseña Histórica, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo

and saving the best for last, a beautiful hardcover coffee-table book: Del Real al Colón: Historia de la Moneda en Costa Rica, by Manuel Benito Chacón Hidalgo

If it seems like Manuel Chacón's name comes up with Bowers-esque frequency, it's with good reason: he's the museum's numismatic curator. His influence is apparent throughout the exhibits, which include a nice overview of several cases of Costa Rican coffee-plantation tokens. One book of his that I didn't buy was Boletos de Cafe de Costa Rica, coauthored with Elisa Carazo de Flores. It weighs in at a hefty 400-plus pages, and I already knew I'd have an overweight charge for my luggage going home. I'll get a copy some day, though, because somewhere in my collection I have some Castella plantation tokens that I acquired years ago.

In addition to the books, I bought a cased sterling-silver Cruz Plata (Silver Cross) commemorating the 150th anniversary of Costa Rica's Campaña Nacional (1856 - 1857) against U.S. adventurer/pirate William Walker and his private army.

An interesting sidebar at the Numismatic Museum was its "hands-on" table, with several trays of old coins, tokens, notes, etc., that visitors are welcome to pick up and examine! I wonder how many casual visitors know to pick up a silver cob or a 1700s piece of eight by its edge, rather than pinched between obverse and reverse.

I also found it fascinating to study the banknote engravings of the American Bank Note Company and other U.S. firms, incorporated into Costa Rica's paper currency. Beautiful pieces of artistry.

Again, I highly recommend a visit to the Banco Central's Museo Numismatico, for any collector who travels to San Jose. It's not a white-sand beach, a wild rainforest, or a packed nightclub, but for a numismatist with a couple hours to spare, it's a unique stop on the Costa Rican itinerary.