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1/2 Escudo
| Issuer | Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.25 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The denomination, weight, and fineness are inscribed in the central field within a laurel wreath tied at the base. The patriotic motto LA UNION ES LA FUERZA arcs along the upper periphery outside the wreath. Below the wreath, the date 1868 appears in the exergue, flanked by the mint monogram PTS for the Potosi Mint and the assayer initials F and E, all separated by lozenge-shaped stops. The reverse legend and central inscriptions are rendered in bold, well-spaced Roman capitals, consistent with the milled coinage standards of the Potosi Mint. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Bolivia's fractional gold escudo series was already an anachronism by 1868 — most of Latin America had moved toward decimal coinage, and Bolivia itself had been issuing decimal silver since the 1860s. This piece survived as a gold holdover from the colonial cob-and-pillar tradition, kept in production largely because small gold denominations remained trusted for private transactions in mining districts where silver coin was distrusted or in short supply.
KM#140 was struck at the Potosí mint, the same facility that had defined hemispheric silver production for three centuries — running gold in parallel, at fractional weights, almost as an afterthought.