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Uncatalogued Rarity: 1983FM Proof 1/4 Balboa with "Ley 0.500" Reverse

7Jaguars7Jaguars Posts: 7,228 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited April 12, 2021 1:37PM in World & Ancient Coins Forum

I have been trying to find out more information on this coin for years, and even put it on these boards years ago. I bought this on ebay for somewhere in the 25-60 range about 3-4 years ago having recognized it as a very rare type, and NOT an error.

There are well known "mule" Panamanian coins from the 1975 and 1976 years as well as from 1982, some from the RCM (Royal Canadian Mint) and some from the FM (Franklin Mint);

In 1975 and 1976 the FM sent dies evidently meant for the proof silver 1B and 5B coins to the RCM. The latter promptly removed the FM mintmark/monogram, but not the fineness markings (in Spanish and on the coin: "Ley 0.925") and struck off somewhere between 10 and 12,000 of each coin in uncirculated condition. These were evidently bagged up, but where they were sent I have never heard. They show up on the market regularly and almost always can be had on ebay either individually or in year sets of two not packaged by the mint; they are nearly always bag marked and are generally of proof like quality. I have never seen a circulated version.

1982 brought some excitement of some mules for the FM in the 1B and 5B denominations: in the annual mint sets packaged evidently by the Panamanians themselves, individual FM struck proof like uncirculated coins that had been in bags evidently were placed in plastic perspect multi-coin holders and then packaged in a silvery flimsy cardboard box. On what seems to have been about half of the 500 or so sets made the cupronickel 5B coin was struck with "Ley 0.500" on the reverse.

On the 1982 8 coin and 9 coin proof sets struck and packaged by the Franklin Mint there was another sort of mule, the difference being the 9 coin sets having a 20 Balboa proof coin, a portion (perhaps 1/3 to 1/2) had a 5B coin struck with the "Ley 0.925" on a coin that was truthfully struck in 0.500 silver fineness, therefore being a mule. Up through 1979 5B proof coins had the "Ley 0.925" on them and were actually struck in 0.925 silver. Beginning in 1980, the silver fineness of the silver coins in the set (1B, 5B in the 8 coin sets and 1B, 5B and 20B in the 9 coin sets) was dropped to an actual silver fineness of 0.500.

Completing the 1982 mule coins was the 1B struck for currency but evidently NOT in the sets released by the Panamanian Central Bank. It had a reverse marked "0.500" and is known evidently known to be struck to the extent of 11 specimens. I am not sure what the source for that number but it has been reported in Krause.

Now for the subject coin: this is a 1983FM proof 1/4 Balboa that was struck with a reverse with "Ley 0.500". It however is not silver at all, but rather copper-nickel.
This coin however is not a mule because NO 1/4 Balboa modern FM coins were ever struck in silver. No other 1983 minors are known with this designation; putatively there are only hypotheses and the leading is that there was to be an all silver set struck in 0.500 fine silver for the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the country of Panama, and this was a pattern for the 1/4 Balboa in that series - a series that evidently never came to be.

Here it is:


Love that Milled British (1830-1960)
Well, just Love coins, period.

Comments

  • 1984worldcoins1984worldcoins Posts: 596 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very interesting, a very rare coin with a mystery still unsolved; could be like you said, that they were preparing a silver set. The 80's are great years to collect, so many rarities and cool stories. Also, mostly still affordable (well, not all, some rare gold and platinum and others like piefort are beyond my buying power).

    Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter

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