Currency and Exchange Rate. Costa Rica’s currency is the colon (₡), named after Christopher Columbus. It comes in both paper and coin form. The paper money goes from bills of ₡1,000 (called a “mil” (Spanish for 1,000) or “un rojo” because of the bill’s red color) to ₡50,000, but we’ve never seen anything higher than ₡20,000 come out of the ATM.