1 Peso Juan Pablo Duarte

Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the three founding fathers of Dominican independence from Haiti in 1844, spent much of his adult life in exile — ironically expelled by the very republic he helped create, after political rivals under Pedro Santana consolidated power. He died in Caracas in 1876, nearly forgotten by the government he founded. The centenario of his death fell in 1976, which almost certainly drove the timing of this issue.

At 26.9 grams in copper-nickel, this is a heavy coin that saw little practical circulation.