Nicaragua's 1987 coinage was struck in the middle of the Contra War and a hyperinflationary collapse that would ultimately render the entire córdoba currency system obsolete within three years. Aluminium was not a prestige choice — it was the only economically viable metal available to a government hemorrhaging foreign reserves. The 1987 series was part of a last attempt to maintain a functioning coin supply before the córdoba was replaced by the gold córdoba in 1990 at a conversion rate of 1,000,000 to one.
Nicaragua's 1987 coinage was struck in the middle of the Contra War and a hyperinflationary collapse that would ultimately render the entire córdoba currency system obsolete within three years. Aluminium was not a prestige choice — it was the only economically viable metal available to a government hemorrhaging foreign reserves. The 1987 series was part of a last attempt to maintain a functioning coin supply before the córdoba was replaced by the gold córdoba in 1990 at a conversion rate of 1,000,000 to one.