Catalog
1/2 Balboa Pattern, Uniface Obverse, Piefort
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Panamá |
|---|---|
| Year | 1982 |
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| Value | 1/2 Balboa (1/2 PAB) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing armored bust of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador and explorer, rendered in high relief as befitting a piefort striking. He is depicted wearing a morion helmet with raised comb and brim, a ruffled gorget at the neck, and articulated pauldron armor at the shoulder. Flanking the bust are two laurel branches curving upward from the lower field. The arched legend MEDIO-BALBOA appears in large capitals along the upper periphery, separated by two small dots. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Uniface reverse presenting a completely blank, unadorned field enclosed by a raised rim. No design, inscription, or device of any kind appears on this face, consistent with the uniface piefort pattern classification of this piece. |
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| Additional information |
Panama's 1982 pattern issues were produced in connection with the country's broader commemorative coinage program of that period, with piefort strikes serving as presentation pieces for official distribution rather than currency trials in any practical sense. A uniface piefort in .400 gold occupies an unusual technical middle ground — the alloy is too low for standard fine gold issues but consistent with certain Latin American pattern and essai conventions of the era.
KM#TS9 is among the rarer catalogued Panamanian pattern entries, with documented examples appearing infrequently at auction.