Niagara Falls on Costa Rican note?

News: Registration is free here at the CPMF!

Now why would a bank note from Costa Rica have an engraving of Niagara Falls.  Did the bank note companies use whatever engraving thay had at hand for the notes?  Could this be another waterfall that looks similar to Niagara?  In the engraving the Canadian Falls looks to be "convex" wheras I beleive the actual falls are "concave".

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3926189653&indexURL=1&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

It is.  Notice that there are no signatures on the note, yet it is not marked "specimen".  I think this might be an unissued remainder note found in the vault of the bank note company years after the actual issued note became defunct.  What do you think?

Is it just me, or do the "Horseshoe Falls" look convex??  

Yes it looks like an unissued remainder. It is catalogued as Pick S164.

Sorry "eyevet"...I didn't mean to repeat a question that you had already posed in your initial posting. Didn't quite read well enough.  

I do agree with you that the falls do look convex.

Thought I'd post the picture before the e-bay link become stale.

The vignette does look very much like a cut down version of the Niagara Falls vignette used on $1 notes of the second and third issues of the Niagara District Bank (see page 313 in Charlton, 4th ed.)  
You will see upon comparing with the photo in Charlton that the right hand half of the vignette, including the "concave" Horseshoe falls, has been omitted from this engraving.
The engravings are similar but not identical.  Yet the similarities are so strong I have to think the Costa Rican note does indeed depict the "left hand side" of Niagara Falls.

Why would the Costa Ricans use a vignette of a Canadian landmark?  Sounds more envious than patriotic if you ask me.

Could it simply be that there is a similar set of waterfalls in Costa Rica that we are confusing with our own Niagara Falls?  I can't find anything on Google about any waterfalls in Costa Rica, except for La Paz, but that one is very tall and narrow, compared to the double wide falls shown above.

My guess would be that Costa Rica need notes fast for some reason, or cheap for some reason and decided to go with an engraving that the banknote company already had available.

I wonder if there is a waterfall in Costa Rica that looks similar though. I'm not up on my Central and South American geography.  :-/

Here is a nice view of the entire falls.  If you can imagine shortening Goat Island, it sort of fits the image on the note at the angle and distance.
Just my thought.

Tom

Just googled "Costa Rica Waterfall" and this is the best waterfall they have to offer in this country...not much of a water fall IMHO; but when one lives in a country that is mostly jungle and volcanic..I suppose (poor people LOL; no snow et al) that its the best they can do..perhaps they simply wanted a Banknote that depicted a real waterfall??
http://www.vacationscostarica.com/tours/sanjose_waterfall_gardens_transfer.htm