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1/2 Boliviano / 50 Centavos
| Issuer | Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873-1900 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centavos = 1/2 Boliviano (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A wreath composed of laurel and oak branches, tied at the base with a ribbon bow, frames the central field. Within the wreath, the denomination is inscribed in two lines reading MEDIO Bo and 50 CENTs, separated from the fineness statement 9 Ds FINO below by a horizontal rule. The date appears in the exergue beneath the wreath. The national motto LA UNION ES LA FUERZA curves along the upper periphery, with the mint assayer initials positioned at the lower sides of the legend, all within a beaded border. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Mintage | 1873 PTS - KM#161.1 (lettering `12 GS. 500 MS. 9 DS. FINO`) - 1873 PTS FE - KM#161.2 (lettering `12 GMS 500 MMS`) - 1879 PTS FE - KM#161.3 (without `50 Cents` and weight) - 1882 PTS FE - KM#161.3 (without `50 Cents` and weight) - 1884 PTS FE - KM#161.4 (reduced size; lettering with weight) Proof - 1887 PTS FE - KM#161.4 (reduced size; lettering with weight) rare - 1889 PTS MM - KM#161.4 (reduced size; lettering with weight) rare - 1891 PTS CB - KM#161.4 (reduced size; lettering with weight) - 1891 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 1892 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 1893 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 3,147,120 1894 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) overdate variety exists, includes 1894, PTS ES - 2,470,143 1894 PTS ES - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) overdate variety exists - 1895 PTS ES - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) overdate variety exists - 3,386,900 1896 PTS ES - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 2,975,738 1897 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 2,311,602 1897 PTS ES - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 1898 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) overdate variety exists - 1899 PTS CB - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 1899 PTS MM - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight; first `9` over inverted `9`) overdate variety exists - 1899 PTS MM - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 1900 PTS MM - KM#161.5 (reduced size; lettering without weight) - 3,820,000 |
| Additional information |
Bolivia's silver coinage of this period was minted almost exclusively at Potosí — the same mountain that had supplied Spanish imperial silver for three centuries — though by the 1870s the mines were producing under Bolivian national concessions rather than colonial extraction. The 1873 introduction of the decimal system replaced the old real-based denominations, and this piece was central to that transition.
Production collapsed after the War of the Pacific (1879–1884), in which Bolivia lost its entire coastal territory to Chile. Cut off from Pacific port access and with public finances severely disrupted, mint output from Potosí dropped sharply through the 1880s before partially recovering in the final decade of the type's run.