1/4 De Balboa Pattern, Uniface Reverse, Piefort

Panama's pattern coinage of the early 1980s was produced largely for collector and archival purposes, with piefort strikes — double-thickness blanks — used to evaluate die quality and design fidelity before committing to circulation production. The .400 fine gold composition here is atypical for Panamanian monetary gold, which more commonly appeared at higher fineness in commemorative and proof issues tied to Omar Torrijos-era prestige programs.

The uniface reverse — struck on one face only — suggests this was a die trial rather than a proposed circulation piece. KM#TS8 designations indicate official test strike status, placing this outside normal numismatic series entirely.