Alquileo y sus monedas

Abstract

The costarican poet Aquileo J. Echeverría (1866-1909), is the author of the book Concherías, whose third edition was published in 1927. Sections of Concherías, with references to coins used in Costa Rica at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, are included in this essay. Silver coins, such as the reales, and gold coins, such as the onzas, were mentioned by Aquileo to indicate prices for goods, wages, gifts, and services. The coins mentioned provide the reader with reference points to better understand the lifestyles of the early Costa Rican peasants known as conchos. A portrait of Aquileo was engraved in the 10 colones bank notes issued between 1951 and 1962, the year when the Aquileo J. Echeverría National Award was established to honor outstanding literary works. This essay is a contribution to commemorate the centennial of the death of this poet.