20 Centavos

The Dominican Republic's billon coinage of the 1890s emerged from chronic fiscal disorder — the government was deeply indebted to foreign creditors and lacked the revenue to support a proper silver currency. The reduced-fineness alloy was a deliberate compromise, allowing the state to issue fractional coinage without the bullion costs a true silver piece would have required.

KM#14 was struck in Paris, the Dominican Republic having no domestic mint. French contract coinage of this period is generally well-documented, but surviving examples in collectible condition are uncommon — the billon composition corrodes unevenly, and most circulated pieces show surface degradation rather than simple wear.