An interesting Find...and a couple of questions

NeoNumismaniac

I was going through a couple of rolls of Roosevelts last night to try and fill a circ set I'm working on. To my surprize, in one of the rolls of dimes, I found a coin from Panama. Obverse has a Spanish conquistador (Presumably Balboa) with the inscription "Un Decimo de Balboa". The reverse appears to be a Heraldic Shield of sorts and has the inscription "Republica de Panama" and the date 1973. It is a clad coin.

Now to the questions:
1) Silver clad or Cupro-nickel? (Looks to be copper nickel alloy)
2) Does the coin have any value over face in the World Numismatic circles?

Forgive the "newbieness" of the questions. I don't have a lot of experience with foreign coins nor do I have any books on the subject.

I appreciate any input!

WWH

NeoNumismaniac

Danegeld

I'd say it's worth about a dime, a panamanian dime that is

Take Care
Ben

1jester

Welcome to the Darkside, Neo!

If I'm not mistaken, the Panamian dollar was pegged to the US dollar 1:1, so theoretically it's worth a dime. Also, the coins were exactly the same weight/composition as the US coins (this is generally true, but there might have been some differences between 65-70). Your "dime" is the same as a US dime.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>1) Silver clad or Cupro-nickel? (Looks to be copper nickel alloy) >>

That is exactly what it is. A copper-nickel clad coin. In all respects save the design, it is a United States dime. I am fairly (99%) certain these were struck on the same clad stock and same blanks as a US dime, and were produced by the US Mint for Panama.


<< <i>2) Does the coin have any value over face in the World Numismatic circles? >>

Not really, though the 2004 Krause catalog does list it for 15 cents in VF, 20 cents in XF, and $1.50 in UNC. 1973 is far and away the most common date, with ten million having been struck.

NeoNumismaniac

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it. It's an interesting piece to add to my collection. I do have a few foreign coins I've gathered over the past ten years or so. One of these days I'll figure the best way to digitize pictures of them to post. I tried using my scanner, but I'm not very happy with the results. All the pictures seem to turn out dull looking and flat toned.

WWH

NeoNumismaniac

lordmarcovan

The Panamanian quarter-balboas and half-balboas were struck on US quarter and half dollar blanks. And the one-balboa pieces were struck on the same blanks as Ike dollars, I believe.

PS- I feel your pain when it comes to scanners. But they're better than nothing.

lordmarcovan

Oh, BTW: