World coins chat: Panama

Panama is a country in Central America located very strategically on an isthmus between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. During the heydays of the Spanish Empire, the territory was used to transport silver from Peru to mainland Europe. Panama was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

During the wars of independence of the early 19th century, Panama joined Nueva Grenada (present-day Colombia), Ecuador and Venezuela in the Republica de Gran Colombia. The latter two states broke away quickly, but Panama remained until the US started to promote the idea of independence, mainly for strategic reasons. In 1903, Panama became independent and the Americans received the right to build the Panama Canal which was completed in 1914. Currently, Panama is one of the stronger economies of the region, partly because of the revenue from the Canal.

Currency
When Panama became independent in 1903 the Balboa replaced the Colombian Peso at a rate of 2 Pesos per Balboa. The first coinage from 1904 was in line with the standards of the Latin Monetary Union, with the 50 Centesimos equal to 5 Francs or 1 Peso of various Latin countries.

In 1931 Panama pegged the Balboa to the US Dollar and continues to use both USD and its own Balboa, named after conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa.

Coins
The first series was introduced in 1904 and consisted of silver coins of .900 fineness up to 25 grams for the 50 Centesimos. The smallest silver coin, that of 2½ Centesimos, was nicknamed the Panama Pill for its small size of only 10 millimeter.

Later coins are known for their lovely designs, in particular the 1947 silver Balboa. All coins had the same specs as the American ones. In 2011, Panama introduced bi-metallic 1 Balboa coins.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/panama-1.html

Quote: jokinenuntil the US started to promote the idea of independence, mainly for strategic reasons

Divide and rule...

The coins of Panama are very collectable. I have a 1970 5 Balboa coin, which is one of my favorites. I would like to get a 1971 20 Balboa, which at the time it was minted was largest coin in the world at 61 mm in diameter and containing almost 4 ounces of silver! So with this coin and the Panama Pill you mentioned, Panama had both the smallest and largest coins.  I also like the design of the 1 centesimo  with the bust  Chief Urraca on it

In the department of unusual denominations, Panama has the unique 1.25 centimos coin, 1/80th of a Balboa:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces12035.html

Panama was my first love in coin collecting.  Unfortunately recently I missed out on a superb 1904 50 centesimos coin because the bidding got a little out of my price range, but I still have most of the silver coins.  They have, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful coins in the world.  This one

The 2 Balboas coins were never minted. They were in project, about 10 essays exist, but due to the low success of the 1 Balboa bimetallic, still not all released into circulation, the 2 Balboa was abandoned.

info comes from the President of the Asociación Numismática de Panamá

Quote: jokinenIn 2011, Panama introduced bi-metallic 1 and 2 Balboa coins, but the 2 Balboa ones are a bit of a mystery to me.

Quote: EcapoeThe 2 Balboas coins were never minted. They were in project, about 10 essays exist, but due to the low success of the 1 Balboa bimetallic, still not all released into circulation, the 2 Balboa was abandoned.

info comes from the President of the Asociación Numismática de Panamá

Is that what you're speaking about?

Yes.
Why ? are you THE owner of one of those ?

Am I that wrong about that coin ?   

Fortunately for you, I'm not    I just wanted to link your post with others inside this topic.

Before the Panama canal was finished by the Americans, it was the same French engineer who built the Suez canal who started it. But the climate and malaria were too much first then to handle. They were losing people too fast and they eventually have up. The Americans came later with different construction techniques and got it done.

The design of the canal finally chosen is the one that had been proposed first by Lepinnay and then by Gustave Eiffel, but stubborn Lesseps still preferred a canal without sluices.
See there http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/french.html

The major changes brought by the Americans were
- by US physician Gorgas for sanitation against the mosquito vector of malaria and yellow fever (applying then the findings of the Cuban Finlay who is pictured on some 5 cts coins) . Find the info there http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/panamacanal.html and his book available for free download.
- and by engineer John Stevens who prepared all the necessary infrastructure and particularly the railway.

There is a nice National Geographic video on the topic "The Panama Canal, the mountain and the mosquito"

I got this coin in the mail the other day from a brother of mine who visited Panama recently. The coin is a circulating commemorative with colored obverse. It is not yet available on Numista, but I have submitted a request for it to be added.

There is a whole series planned of 20 Balboas coins of silver .9999 and 24k gold, minted 500 ex.

Picture is from the Ministerio de Finanzas de Panama.
I hope we find sometimes an authorized picture

The quarters that will circulate are regular sized copper Nickel with the same designs as those 6. Just the first already came out and is actually circulating.

My smallest coin, the "Panama Pill".

It is quite thick for its size, weighing 1.25 grams, which is comparable to a silver threepence.




I wonder why they produced such an unpractical coin. It was worth 25 Centimes of the LMU Franc or 5 Centavos of most contemporary Latin American currencies. But most of these countries did not use silver or produced larger but flatter coins instead.

I also wonder how many have been accidentally swallowed and excreted... or maybe not.

In addition to Joinken's pill, I can show you the other coins in that 1904 set.

 

     

They all are more regular size, the 5 centavos de Balboa is 18mm in size rather than 12 to 14mm. The set is curious as it was the full Balboa was not minted and had it been, it would have weighed 50 grams and been around 43mm in size or twice the size of the usual full 90% silver pesos issued by Latin American countries (Some like Chile had already debased or reduced size of their coins by 1900, but most kept a full size coin until at least WW1). Here the 50 centavos de Balboa was a full peso sized coin and the 25 centavos de Balboa was the usual 50 centavo/medio peso/sol etc sized coin.

 

The 50c de Balboa coin has a similar coat of arms to a modern Panamanian coin and again shows Vasco Nunez de Balboa - of course I doubt any writing about Liberty and God etc would be carved on his helmet. My guess is de Balboa, wanted money and land for Spain (And himself), he would go on looking for mythical El Dorado and the 7 cities of Cibola etc. I doubt its even based on a real portrait as Balboa lived in the early 1500s when portraiture outside of royalty and grandees was just coming into being.

 

The 90% silver coins were minted in the USA, likely at Philadelphia and were used through to 1917, when they were collected up and melted down. A new Balboa worth slightly more than half as much metal came out in 1931 (The Balboa weighed 26.7 grams, same as a USA Peace dollar, although the centavos coins were the same 0.25 grams of silver per centavo).

 

This 1904 set is not that rare despite mintings of only 1 million to 2 million per coin, my guess is they got usage from locals and the workers on the canal, which was being dug between 1901 and 1914. My coins show they had usage ranging from gFine to gVF.

 

There were some further issues of these designs in 1905, 1916 and 1917 - but nearly all of these were melted down and much rarer now than 1904 dated coins. They also issued a ½ centavo coin in 1907 and made the silver pill a nickel sized 2½ centavo coin in 1907. This became a smaller coin in 1929 with currency devluation and the most bizarre coin a 1¼ centavo coin was issued in 1940.

Much later and starting in 1971 - Panama issued new sets of collector coins, which featured cupronickel and bronze coins up to 50 centesimos/centavos/whatever and these coins mirrored size and weights of American coins. But they came with some gimmicks.

 

    

 

First of all they bought back Panama Pills and these were 10mm in size but 3mm thick, they were only issued in sets and the Balboas stopped being made when Panama went to muck metals in 1965. The sets had a silver (US Dollar sized at 26.72 grams/38mm rather than 25 grams) Balboa and also 2 new coins, a 5 Balboa silver coin, only marginally larger than the Balboa (35 grams, 40mm). This coin alone had over an ounce of nice silver in it. These set coins were also sterling (92.5%) silver not standard US constitutional silver (90%).

 

The gimmick was the crazy 20 Balboa coin, between 1971 and 1979 (Set shown in 1978) these behemoths were 129.59 grams in weight and were 61mm in size. The coins contained 119.87 grams of silver in them, that is 3.85 ounces of it. These almost joke sized coins were impossible to store and could make nice hockey pucks or coasters.

 

The coins were issued with either Simon Bolivar on them (to 1976) or Balboa (again) but more of him between 1977 - 1979 and the anniversary coin of 1978 (Mine). Minted by Franklin mint, they come from a time when silver was like $3 an ounce and thus the face value of 20 Balboas was worth well over melt. Of course today they are worth around $130 in US money and $220 in our pesos.

 

Needless to say the hockey puck sized coins were reduced in size slightly in 1980 and the purity was reduced down to a measly 50% silver. But these coins minted 1980 - 1985 had exactly half as much silver as the 70s counterparts. After 1986 it was gone completely reduced to a pure silver .9999 bullion dollar sized coin (38mm).

 

These sets were more gimmicky than ever, but now with high metal prices are becoming popular again. Plus in what other set of coins can you get some of the largest and very smallest coins together?

chomp-master

Quote: jokinenIn 2011, Panama introduced bi-metallic 1 and 2 Balboa coins, but the 2 Balboa ones are a bit of a mystery to me.

Quote: EcapoeThe 2 Balboas coins were never minted. They were in project, about 10 essays exist, but due to the low success of the 1 Balboa bimetallic, still not all released into circulation, the 2 Balboa was abandoned.

info comes from the President of the Asociación Numismática de Panamá

Is that what you're speaking about?

To this date, the 1 Balboa remains as a circulating coin and is often issued for commemorative reasons, however the Americans are adamant their cash money remains in circulation in Panama (Interesting as its in English and only 14% of Panamanians speak English - wikipedia).

 

Panama tried to mint banknotes in 1941, but they lasted days before the Americans caught wind and now Panamanian banknotes are true rarities.

Moneytane

Much later and starting in 1971 - Panama issued new sets of collector coins, which featured cupronickel and bronze coins up to 50 centesimos/centavos/whatever and these coins mirrored size and weights of American coins. But they came with some gimmicks.

 

    

 

First of all they bought back Panama Pills and these were 10mm in size but 3mm thick, they were only issued in sets and the Balboas stopped being made when Panama went to muck metals in 1965. The sets had a silver (US Dollar sized at 26.72 grams/38mm rather than 25 grams) Balboa and also 2 new coins, a 5 Balboa silver coin, only marginally larger than the Balboa (35 grams, 40mm). This coin alone had over an ounce of nice silver in it. These set coins were also sterling (92.5%) silver not standard US constitutional silver (90%).

 

The gimmick was the crazy 20 Balboa coin, between 1971 and 1979 (Set shown in 1978) these behemoths were 129.59 grams in weight and were 61mm in size. The coins contained 119.87 grams of silver in them, that is 3.85 ounces of it. These almost joke sized coins were impossible to store and could make nice hockey pucks or coasters.

 

The coins were issued with either Simon Bolivar on them (to 1976) or Balboa (again) but more of him between 1977 - 1979 and the anniversary coin of 1978 (Mine). Minted by Franklin mint, they come from a time when silver was like $3 an ounce and thus the face value of 20 Balboas was worth well over melt. Of course today they are worth around $130 in US money and $220 in our pesos.

 

Needless to say the hockey puck sized coins were reduced in size slightly in 1980 and the purity was reduced down to a measly 50% silver. But these coins minted 1980 - 1985 had exactly half as much silver as the 70s counterparts. After 1986 it was gone completely reduced to a pure silver .9999 bullion dollar sized coin (38mm).

 

These sets were more gimmicky than ever, but now with high metal prices are becoming popular again. Plus in what other set of coins can you get some of the largest and very smallest coins together?

Such a tiny coin

I love it