25 Centavos Piedfort

El Salvador's monetary system in 1861 was barely a decade removed from the Central American Federation's collapse, and the country was still working out the practical mechanics of an independent coinage. Piedforts — struck at double or greater thickness on standard-diameter blanks — were produced at this period almost exclusively as presentation or pattern pieces for official approval, not for circulation. This example in brass almost certainly served as a submission piece to test die alignment and strike pressure before committing to silver production.

KM#P1 designation confirms it as the first catalogued piedfort for El Salvador, a country whose mid-nineteenth century numismatic output remains poorly documented.