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The national coat of arms of Panama occupies the central field, flanked by silver purity and weight inscriptions (LEY 0.900 and GR. 2.50) at left and right respectively. The legend REPUBLICA DE PANAMA arcs above, while the national motto PRO MUNDI BENEFICIO curves below the shield. A decorative wreath frames the lower portion of the design, with the date 1961 appearing in the exergue. |
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| Mô tả mặt sau |
A low-relief armoured bust of the conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa faces left, depicted in period military dress. The denomination UN DECIMO DE BALBOA is inscribed in a bold legend arcing above the portrait. A laurel wreath appears below the bust, serving as a base element to the composition. The design is rendered in a restrained, classical style consistent with the long-running Balboa coinage series. |
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Panama has no central bank and no currency of its own — the balboa exists only as a unit of account, with U.S. dollars serving as the actual circulating medium since 1904. These silver fractional pieces were struck primarily to satisfy transactional demand for small change, since U.S. coins of equivalent denomination circulated interchangeably alongside them at par. The arrangement stems directly from the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which granted the U.S. sweeping monetary authority over the Canal Zone and beyond.
By 1961, silver content in U.S. subsidiary coinage was already under political pressure in Washington — the Coinage Act eliminating silver from dimes was just three years away.