20 Centavos

Bolivia's switch to zinc for this issue was a direct consequence of wartime metal rationing. Copper and brass were diverted to Allied munitions production under pressure from the United States, which was actively courting Latin American nations for strategic material cooperation. Zinc, abundant and strategically less critical, became the stopgap across much of the continent simultaneously.

Zinc coins from this period are notoriously prone to surface corrosion and lamination flaws, making problem-free survivors genuinely uncommon despite relatively high mintage figures.