2 1/2 Centavos

Colombia's copper-nickel fractional coinage of the 1880s was introduced under the Regeneración political movement, which sought to centralize federal finances after decades of chaotic state-level monetary autonomy. The 1881 2½ centavos is an awkward denomination by any standard — fractions of five were already difficult to integrate into daily commerce, and this piece had a correspondingly short practical life before the denomination was abandoned.