Colombia's shift to aluminium bronze for this denomination in 1992 was driven largely by the Banco de la República's ongoing battle against coin melting — earlier copper-nickel issues were being pulled from circulation and smelted for their metal value as commodity prices climbed. The alloy change made the economics of melting unfavorable without significantly altering the coin's appearance in pocket change.
The KM#285.1 and #285.2 varieties reflect edge and die modifications introduced partway through the run, documented in Restrepo's Colombian reference as distinct enough to catalog separately.
Colombia's shift to aluminium bronze for this denomination in 1992 was driven largely by the Banco de la República's ongoing battle against coin melting — earlier copper-nickel issues were being pulled from circulation and smelted for their metal value as commodity prices climbed. The alloy change made the economics of melting unfavorable without significantly altering the coin's appearance in pocket change.
The KM#285.1 and #285.2 varieties reflect edge and die modifications introduced partway through the run, documented in Restrepo's Colombian reference as distinct enough to catalog separately.