Costa Rica – Global Postcard Sales

Total: 23 postcards

Sarchi, The biggest ox-cart in the world
We need to take the caption writer’s word for this. Two cards are available. One was mailed from Spain, not from Costa Rica, in 2010. It has two stamps but no postmark (Grade: 4, $1). The other is unused (Grade: 2, $2).

Code: 20103001
Price: $2.00
San Jose, Post Office Building
Mike Roberts card mailed in 1968 with stamp and postmark. Grade: 2

Code: 20103002
Price: $5.00
Kell Billed Toucan
Mailed in 2014 with two stamps, a postage meter label, and minor postal abrasions. Grade: 2

Code: 20103003
Price: $4.00
Volcán Poás
Unmailed card with a message written into the address space, in 1987. Did you know the volcano has erupted 39 times since 1828? Neither did we. Grade: 4

Code: 20103004
Price: $3.00
Arenal Volcano
Unused card with bilingual captions. There are two heavily aged pieces of tape on the reverse. Grade: 4

Code: 20103005
Price: $2.00
The Gulf of Nicoya, Guanacaste
Mailed on an undetermined date, with stamp and heavy postmark. The card is starting to show its age. Grade: 2

Code: 20103006
Price: $5.00
Playas de Manuel Antonio
Unused card, gently aging. Grade: 1

Code: 20103007
Price: $2.00
Puerto Viejo
Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 20103008
Price: $2.00
Manuel Antonio National Park
Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 20103009
Price: $2.00
San Jose, aerial view
Unused card from 1975, though very significantly foxed (mottled with age) on the reverse. Grade: 3

Code: 20103010
Price: $4.00
Los Chorros en Tacares de Grecia, Alajuela
Unused, official postage-paid (150 Colones) card issued by Correios de Costa Rica. Grade: 1

Code: 20103011
Price: $3.00
Puerto Viejo
Unused, unmarked but aging. Grade: 2

Code: 20103012
Price: $2.00
San Jose, Costa Rican Social Security
Unused Codeca card 517, with bilingual Spanish/English captions. Grade: 2

Code: 20103013
Price: $3.00
Balneario de Ojo de Agua Costa Rica
Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 20103014
Price: $2.00
San Jose, “Casa Amarilla” Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
Unused. Slightly aging, but still Grade: 1

Code: 20103015
Price: $3.00
San Jose, Correos (Post Office)
Linen card from earlier than 1949, because that’s when a message was written on the back. The card was not postally used, however. Grade: 4

Code: 20103016
Price: $3.00
Cartago, Sanatorio Dr. Carlos Duran
Unused, aging card. A Wikipedia article translated from Spanish tells us, in part: “Duran Sanatorium was a sanatorium with all the characteristics of a first world hospital trained to house about 300 patients, located between the districts of Tierra Blanca de Cartago and Potrero Cerrado de Oreamuno. It was created to house and treat patients suffering from tuberculosis, also known as the white plague. This old property is located 7 km north of the city of Cartago and about 18 km southeast of the Irazu Volcano,…and was founded in 1918 by the Costa Rican physician and politician Carlos Durán Cartín (1852-1924), ex-President of the Republic.” Grade: 1

Code: 20103017
Price: $2.00
Cartago, Ruinas de Ujarras
Wikipedia tells us, in part: “Ujarrás contains the ruins of one of the oldest churches in Costa Rica, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción, which was built in the 1580s … Local legend has it that a painting of the Virgin was found in a box by native Huetar Indian fishermen who brought it to the village, and a church was thus built on this site by the locals to commemorate the Virgin. Initially a hermitage made of straw was built and indigenous people called the image Virgin Mary as “The Queen of the Valleys”. It was built between 1575 and 1580. It is also said that when the English pirate Henry Morgan attacked the village in 1666, the Virgin Mary came to their rescue to repulse the attack.” In any event, this is an official (Government) card with 150 colones pre-printed postage, and someone’s name inked into the address area. Grade: 3

Code: 20103018
Price: $2.00
Boyero Tipico
In Spanish, “boyero” is a drover, or herder. Unused card, somewhat aging. Grade: 2

Code: 20103019
Price: $2.00
San Jose, Children’s National Hospital
Older card, not postally used but with a message written into the message area. Grade: 4

Code: 20103020
Price: $2.00
50 Centimos
To make it clear, this is a postcard and not a stamp. Mailed in 2005 with one pre-printed stamp, one nicely large postage meter label, and a large blue postmark. Grade: 1

Code: 20103021
Price: $3.00
Nauyaca Waterfall
Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 20103022
Price: $3.00
San Jose, National Theater
Unused, though a price sticker had long ago been peeled off the reverse — legible but only barely. Grade: 2

Code: 20103023
Price: $2.00

Total: 23 postcards