Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
100 Balboas Panama Canal
| Issuer | Panama |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | KM#67, Schön#68 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A dignified three-quarter-length bust of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat and developer of the Panama Canal, faces slightly to the left in contemporary 19th-century attire consisting of a suit jacket and bow tie, rendered in high relief with fine portraiture detail. The commemorative legend CENTENARIO DEL CANAL DE PANAMA arcs along the upper and right periphery, flanked by bullet stops. The dates 1880-1980, marking the centenary of the commencement of canal construction, appear prominently above the portrait in the upper field. The subject's name FERDINAND DE LESSEPS is inscribed along the lower arc of the coin, also flanked by bullet stops. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The 100 Balboas gold series was issued by Panama to commemorate successive anniversaries of the Canal, with the 1980 piece tied to the transition period following the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which set in motion the gradual handover of the waterway from U.S. to Panamanian control. Full sovereignty wasn't completed until December 31, 1999, but 1980 marked the first operational year under the new treaty framework.
The .500 fineness is notably low for a gold commemorative of this period — a deliberate cost decision that kept the bullion value modest while maintaining nominal face value credibility.