Panama's 1¼ centésimos denomination is one of the more unusual fractional values in Western Hemisphere coinage, a direct artifact of the country's monetary relationship with the United States — specifically the need to produce a coin equivalent to 1/100 of a Balboa while accommodating local pricing conventions tied to the Canal Zone economy. The 1940 issue was struck at the Philadelphia Mint, as were virtually all Panamanian coins of this period, Panama lacking any domestic minting infrastructure.
KM#15 had a notably short production run across its lifespan, and the 1940 date is among the scarcer in the series.
Panama's 1¼ centésimos denomination is one of the more unusual fractional values in Western Hemisphere coinage, a direct artifact of the country's monetary relationship with the United States — specifically the need to produce a coin equivalent to 1/100 of a Balboa while accommodating local pricing conventions tied to the Canal Zone economy. The 1940 issue was struck at the Philadelphia Mint, as were virtually all Panamanian coins of this period, Panama lacking any domestic minting infrastructure.
KM#15 had a notably short production run across its lifespan, and the 1940 date is among the scarcer in the series.