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5 Centavos
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Colombia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1875-1885 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 14.3 mm |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing draped bust of Liberty wearing a beaded headband, her hair gathered at the nape, rendered in low relief within a plain field. The circular legend ESTADOS UNIDOS DE COLOMBIA arcs above the effigy, while the word LIBERTAD appears to the left or right of the bust. The date is placed in the lower exergual area beneath the truncation. The design reflects the classical republican style common to mid-nineteenth-century Latin American coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Colombia's 1863 constitution established a federal republic — the United States of Colombia — devolving monetary authority across nine sovereign states, each theoretically empowered to issue its own currency. In practice, the Casa de Moneda struggled to maintain consistent alloy standards across its mints in Bogotá, Medellín, and Popayán throughout this period. The .666 fineness on these fractional silver pieces reflects a deliberate debasement from the earlier .900 standard, driven by chronic silver shortages and the fiscal pressures of a state perpetually on the edge of civil conflict.
Multiple die varieties are documented across the Hernández references for this type, with subtle differences in the numeral spacing and legend alignment distinguishing individual mint outputs.