Colombia's late nineteenth-century fractional silver was produced against a backdrop of chronic fiscal instability and the political tensions that would culminate in the Thousand Days War beginning in 1899. The .666 fineness — well below sterling — reflects the compromises forced on the Bogotá mint as silver reserves and government revenues remained unreliable throughout the Regeneration period under the 1886 constitution.
KM#188 was struck at Bogotá. The reduced alloy standard had been established years earlier precisely to stretch available silver further during recurring monetary shortfalls.
Colombia's late nineteenth-century fractional silver was produced against a backdrop of chronic fiscal instability and the political tensions that would culminate in the Thousand Days War beginning in 1899. The .666 fineness — well below sterling — reflects the compromises forced on the Bogotá mint as silver reserves and government revenues remained unreliable throughout the Regeneration period under the 1886 constitution.
KM#188 was struck at Bogotá. The reduced alloy standard had been established years earlier precisely to stretch available silver further during recurring monetary shortfalls.