Federal Republic of Central America 1835 4 Escudos

The real was the currency of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

from the passing of the coinage law of 19 March 1824 to the dissolution of the republic in 1838. Sixteen silver reales equaled one gold ''escudo'', and a coin of eight reales was called a

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...

. The Central American Republic's real replaced the

Spanish colonial real The silver real () was the currency of the Spanish colonies in America and the Philippines. In the seventeenth century the silver real was established at two billon reales (''reales de vellón'') or sixty-eight '' maravedíes''. Gold '' escu ...

at par and continued to circulate and be issued after the constituent states left the Central American Republic. Federation coins were minted in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras, while additional provisional issues were minted at various points in Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador. Both Guatemala and Costa Rica continued minting coins in the style of the republican real until the late 1840s; the currency was eventually replaced by the Costa Rican real,

Salvadoran peso The peso was the currency of El Salvador between 1877 and 1919. History The peso replaced the Salvadoran and Central American Republic reales, at a rate of 8 reales = 1 peso. Banknotes were issued from 1877. The Salvadoran real continued to be us ...

Guatemalan peso The ''peso'' was the currency of Guatemala between 1859 and 1925. History The peso replaced the '' real'', with 1 peso = 8 reales. In 1869, the ''centavo'' was introduced, worth one hundredth of a peso, but the real continued to be produced until ...

Honduran real The real was the currency of Honduras until 1862. Before 1824, the Spanish colonial real circulated, followed by the Central American Republic real. Sixteen silver reales equalled one gold escudo. Honduras's own real was introduced in 1832. Coin ...

and

Nicaraguan peso The peso was the currency of Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-mos ...

History

The numismatic history of the Federal Republic begins with the passage of the coinage law of 19 March 1824. This law, titled ''Ley Que Prohibe la Acunacion de Moneda con las Armas de la Monarquia Espanola y Designa el Nuevo Tipo de Monedas de la Republica'', banned the production of any coin with features distinctive of the Spanish monarchy and also described the appearance of new coinage. The law states coins should be produced in gold and silver, featuring reverses with the motto Libre Crezca Fecundo and a

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

tree as a symbol of liberty. The coins obverses were to feature a series of volcanos and a radiant sun, with the sun to appear rising on the silver coins and fully risen on the gold. The five volcanos are typically taken to represent the five provinces of the republic. Due to their diminutive size, quarter and half real pieces were permitted by law to feature only three volcanos.

Provisional coinage

Master dies were prepared in Guatemala and eventually sent to the mints in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. However before such dies could arrive, both mints took it upon themselves to hand carve dies and strike coins in gold and silver dated 1824 and 1825. These issues were very inconsistent in their weight and appearance, and as such were eventually demonetized in 1833 by the central government. Records indicate that between 10,900 and 17,000 pesos worth of provisional gold was melted during a three month period at this time. As of 2017, fewer than 10 surviving examples of provisional gold are known to

numismatists A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coins (and poss ...

Coins

Guatemala mint

Central American Republic 8 Reales Coin 1824 Guatemala

The mint in Guatemala produced gold and silver coins for the republic from 1824–1841. The mint in Guatemala produced silver coins in denominations of , , 1, and 8 reales, and gold coins in denominations of 1, 2, 4, and 8 escudos. Guatemala did not formally secede from the republic until 1847 and continued producing republican 8 reales from 1841–1847.

Costa Rica mint

The mint in Costa Rica produced gold and silver coins for the republic from 1824–1838, and continued to produce gold coins in the republican style after forming an independent state. Costa Rica produced gold in denominations of , 1, 2, 4, and 8 escudos and silver coins in denominations of , , 1 and 8 reales. Much of the Costa Rican silver mintage was produced exclusively in 1831.

Honduras mint

Central American Republic coinage minted in Honduras

The mint at

, Honduras produced silver coins from 1824-1824 and from 1830–1832 in denominations of 1 real and 2 reales. After 1832, the mint in Honduras produced debased coinage from copper and lead alloys in various denominations. The issues of 1824 and 1825 were considered nonstandard by the central government in Guatemala, and a law dictating minting operations cease in Tegucigalpa until improved dies could be delivered was passed in 1825.

References

Currencies of Central America Modern obsolete currencies 19th century in economic history Federal Republic of Central America Currencies of Nicaragua Currencies of Honduras Currencies of Guatemala 1824 establishments in Central America {{CentralAm-stub