Catalog
100 Dollars Orchids
| Issuer | Central Bank of Belize |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980 |
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| Value | 100 Dollars |
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| Obverse description | The arms of Belize displayed centrally within the field, featuring a quartered shield bearing crossed tools and a sailing ship, supported by two barefoot woodcutters holding axes over their shoulders, with a mahogany tree above the shield and a scroll bearing the national motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO below. The legend BELIZE arcs along the upper periphery, with ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS running vertically along the left and right sides. The fineness statement 500/1000 FINE GOLD appears in the lower field beneath the shield, and a beaded border encircles the entire design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Belize gained independence from Britain in September 1981, making this 1980 issue one of the last coins struck under the name British Honduras — or, more precisely, one of the first under the newly adopted name Belize, which had been official only since 1973. The Central Bank itself had been established just two years prior. This piece belongs to a FAO-affiliated commemorative program promoting agricultural and botanical development, a series that produced some of the most architecturally eclectic gold issues to come out of the Caribbean basin in that decade.
The .500 fineness is notably low for a commemorative gold issue of this period, a deliberate cost reduction that kept the program accessible to smaller issuing nations with limited reserves.