Central Bank Museums
An underground cultural center, the Costa Rican Central Bank Museums offer several attractions for visitors in one place. The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, one of the few of its kind, has a superb collection of objects in gold that reflect the world view, social structure and metallurgy of Costa Rican Pre-Columbian people. You can also visit the Numismatic Museum and enjoy its extraordinary collection of banknotes, coins, coffee tokens, dies, and other documents and photographs. Three temporary exhibition galleries offer the visitor an additional opportunity to experience Costa Rica’s visual arts, archeology and history.

Pre-Columbian Gold Museum
We are one of the few Pre-Columbian gold museums worldwide.
The exhibition consists of 1000 original pieces that date from 300 to 1500 B.C. The Pre- Columbian Gold Museum has an extraordinary collection of gold objects that reflect the gold-working techniques of the Pre-Columbian peoples of Costa Rica. The exhibition shows the use, function, and technology of the pieces as well as their connection to nature and the daily life of these groups.
The exhibition is divided into two levels:

• An introductory and orientation area on the second level of the building that interprets the social and cultural evolution of Pre-Columbian cultures. This space also explained the development of metallurgy in Costa Rica, including its stages and styles.
• An exhibition of gold pieces on the third level of the building. This section explains the different uses and meanings of the gold objects. Before seeing the collection, the visitor can also view an introductory video.

Numismatic Museum
The most valuable coins, banknotes, dies and coffee and banana tokens from the Central Bank´ s collection are displayed in the exhibition “ From the Real to the Colon: the History of Money in Costa Rica ”.
With a dynamic presentation, the exhibition leads the visitor through the evolution of exchange methods in Costa Rica from 1502 to the present day. The visit begins with a video and an explanation of the use of money and later moves to the interesting aspects of the history of money in the country such as the practice of bartering goods, the use of metallic coins – which began during colonial times – the use of foreign tokens, coins and banknotes issued from different banks, up until the consolidation of the Central Bank.

Temporary Exhibition Galleries
The galleries offer a continuous and dynamic program of visual arts, ethnological and historical exhibits. Works by national and international artists are regularly presented as well as didactic and interactive exhibits about different art techniques. Each exhibit is based on curatorial research, the results of which are presented in books and catalogues.

Rates 2009-2010

• International visitors: $ 8
• International students with ID: $ 5

Free entrance :

• Children under 12 years old
• Tourist guides with ID

Guided Tours :

• Per group (From 1 to15 pax) $50

Use of Museum Facilities for special activities: Auditorium (75 pax): $250

Use of the outer and inner vestibules for: $750

Use of vestibules with access to the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum: $1.000

Use of vestibules with access to all exhibitions: temporary Rooms, the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum and the Numismatic Museum: $1.500

Museum Hours:
Monday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Telephone: (506) 2243-4214 / (506) 2243-4202
Fax: (506) 2243-4220
E-mail: saboriocg@bccr.fi.cr / museoro@racsa.co.cr
www.museosdelbancocentral.org