100 Balboas Ceremonial Mask

Panama's gold commemorative program of the late 1970s and early 1980s leaned heavily on pre-Columbian goldwork traditions, and this issue draws from the huaca finds of Coclé province — archaeological sites that yielded some of the most technically sophisticated goldsmithing in the pre-contact Americas. The .500 fineness is deliberately matched to approximate the tumbaga alloys the Coclé craftsmen themselves used, a gold-copper mixture that allowed for repoussé work impossible in purer gold.

The series was produced under contract with the Franklin Mint during a period when Panama aggressively sold commemorative programs to foreign collectors.