20 Centavos

KM#77.2 distinguishes itself from the earlier .1 variety by a subtle but catalogued reverse die modification introduced when the Banco Central del Ecuador shifted production runs in the early 1970s. Ecuador's centavo coinage of this period was struck under contract at foreign mints — the 1974 issue produced at the Casa de Moneda in Santiago, Chile — as Ecuador lacked sufficient domestic minting capacity to meet circulation demand following rapid population growth in the coastal provinces.