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1/4 Balboa Republic
| Issuer | Republic of Panama |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.45 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a left-facing armored bust of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador and explorer, wearing an ornately decorated morion helmet and a ruffled gorget, rendered in high relief. The denomination UN CUARTO DE BALBOA curves along the upper periphery, separated by small dot ornaments. The commemorative inscription CINCUENTENARIO, marking the fiftieth anniversary of Panamanian independence, arcs along the lower periphery and is flanked by a five-pointed star on each side. |
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| Mintage | 1953 - - 1,200,000 1953 - Proof - 5 |
| Additional information |
Panama's coinage has always operated under an unusual arrangement: the country has no central bank and uses the U.S. dollar as its de facto currency, with Panamanian coins serving only as fractional change. The Balboa was pegged 1:1 to the dollar at its 1904 introduction and has never deviated. This quarter-sized silver piece circulated alongside American quarters interchangeably, and many simply left Panama in tourists' pockets.
KM#19 ran through several years of the 1950s with Philadelphia Mint production — Panama has never operated its own mint.