20 Centavos Pattern

Colombian pattern coinage from the mid-1950s was produced during the military dictatorship of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, whose government actively explored recoinage programs as part of broader economic modernization efforts. The copper-nickel alloy tested here reflects international pressure — and IMF-adjacent fiscal advice — to move away from the silver-based fractional coinage that had persisted in Colombia far longer than in neighboring republics.

The Restrepo reference places this among a documented but sparsely populated series. Patterns from this administration rarely left official channels.