Costa Rican colón
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The colón (named after Christopher Columbus, known as Cristóbal Colón in Spanish) is the currency of Costa Rica. It was also the name of El Salvador's currency until it was replaced by the US dollar (see El Salvadoran colón). The plural is colones in Spanish, but English-speakers often say colons instead. Its ISO 4217 code is CRC.
The colón was introduced in 1896, replacing the peso at par. The colón is divided into 100 céntimos, although coins were issued denominated in centavos between 1917 and 1920.
Coins in circulation are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100 and 500 colones. The 20-colón coin is being phased out. In 1997, the government issued new 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 colón coins to replace the older ones. Banknotes in circulation are 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 colones.
Tejas is used as a slang term for the 100-colón bill, and cinco tejas for the 500 colón, while the 1,000- and 5,000-colón bills are called rojo and tucán.
On June 4, 2006, the United States dollar was worth 506.81 colones. The colón has an unusual relationship with the U.S. dollar which may best be described as a "decaying peg"; instead of being defined by a constant value to the dollar, the colón instead grows progressively weaker at a fixed rate of about 3.294 colones per dollar per month.
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