Catalog
1 Balboa
| Issuer | Banco Central de Emisión de la República de Panamá |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
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| Reference(s) | P#22 |
| Obverse description | Central vignette of a portrait of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c. 1475–1519), the Spanish explorer and conquistador who in 1513 became the first European to lead an expedition sighting the Pacific Ocean from the New World. The portrait is framed by intricate guilloche patterns and the note bears the issuing authority's legend across the face in letterpress. Denomination numeral and title text appear in the surrounding border design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in green, dominated by dense guilloche latticework filling the entire field. At center, the national coat of arms of Panama is set within an elaborate geometric underprint, flanked symmetrically on either side by the large numeral '1' and the word 'UN' in bold block lettering. The legend 'REPUBLICA DE PANAMA' arches above the coat of arms, with 'UN BALBOA' in bold text below. |
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| Comments |
Panama's 1 Balboa of 1941 was issued by a central bank that existed for less than two years. The Banco Central de Emisión was established in 1941 under President Arnulfo Arias Madrid as part of a broader economic nationalism drive — the same political moment that produced Panama's short-lived 1941 constitution. When Arias was overthrown in October of that year, the bank was dissolved and most of the currency recalled, giving the entire series an unusually compressed circulation window.
Hamilton Bank Note Company handled the print run from New York, which was standard practice for Panama given the dollar-pegged monetary relationship with the United States. The recalled notes were largely destroyed, making survivors disproportionately scarce relative to what the original print quantities might suggest.