12 1/2 Céntimos 'Locha'

Venezuela's wartime brass substitution was driven by the same Allied metals prioritization that reshaped coinage across the Americas in the early 1940s — copper-nickel was effectively commandeered for the war effort, pushing smaller denominations into brass or zinc alternatives. The 'Locha' was already an anachronism by 1944, a colonial-era fractional unit clinging to official coinage long after decimal rationalization had made it redundant in everyday accounting.

This was the final year of brass production for the denomination before it was discontinued entirely.