While in the United States all bills are the same color, in Costa Rica like many other countries the bills are full of color and history.

Perhaps you have never really paid attention to the bills, as a matter of fact, it is safe to say that if you ask a group of Costa Ricans the majority will be able to tell you the colors but won’t be able to say whose face is in each bill, or what other important details about Costa Rica’s history are imprinted in each.

Here’s what you need to know:

ȼ1,000.00 bill: The red colored bill, popularly referred to as “un rojo” by Costa Ricans shows the face of Braulio Carrillo Colina the “Chief of State” in two different periods from 1835-1837 and from 1838-1842, he is known as the “Architect of the Costa Rican State” he is responsible for having separated Costa Rica from the Central American Federal Republic and making it an independent and sovereign country. The bill also has a coffee leaf that changes color, an image that represents the flora and fauna of the country, a deer and a Guanacaste tree.

ȼ2,000.00 bill: The character in the blue colored bill is Mauro Fernandez Acuña, who held several political positions but is mostly regarded by his work when he was named Minister of Public Instruction in 1885, he pushed different changes in the educational system in the country, among them the creation of the Liceo de Costa Rica (Men’s High School) and the Colegio Superior de Señoritas (Women’s High School), the building of this last one is actually also featured on the art of the bill. The map of Costa Rica changes color and the back shows an image of the marine fauna with the main image being a bull shark.

ȼ5,000.00 bill: Yellow in color, this bill features the image of Alfredo Gonzalez Flores, President of Costa Rica from 1914-1917 when he was only 37 years of age; he pushed a tax reform that created the income tax, he opened the first public bank, (International Bank of Costa Rica, today Banco Nacional) the image of the bank also appears on the bill. The back of the bill features a White-Faced or Capuchin monkey, the map of Costa Rica at the top changes color.

ȼ10,000.00 bill : This is the green bill that has the image of former president Jose Figueres Ferrer, who served in three periods, 1948-1949 (after the civil war in which he was a key character), 1953-1958 and 1970-1974; one of his most important achievements is the abolition of the army, he is also the founder of the National Liberation Party (PLN). The back of the bill has the image of a sloth in the tropical forest.

ȼ20,000.00 bill: The orange bill is the only one with a woman’s face, Maria Isabel Carvajal, better known as Carmen Lyra, the first prominent female Costa Rican writer and founder of the first Montessori school in the country. The art also shows an image of one of her famous stories from “Los Cuentos de mi tía Panchita”. The back of the bill showcases a colibri (selasphorus flammula).

ȼ50,000.00 bill: The highest value bill in Costa Rica is purple and shows the image of Ricardo Jimenez Oreamuno who was President of Costa Rica in three periods 1910-1914, 1924-1928 and 1932-1936. Jimenez Oreamuno was responsible for the construction of the first National Stadium and the Puntarenas dock. The National Insurance Bank (today National Insurance Institute), the Ministry of Health and the Post Office were also created under his governance. The back of the bill features an image of the cloud forest and the Morpho butterfly.