El Salvador's bimetallic coinage of the 1990s preceded the country's dollarization by just a few years — in 2001, the Monetary Integration Law fixed the colón permanently at 8.75 to the dollar and effectively ended the colón as a circulating currency. Coins like this 1997 issue were rendered obsolete almost immediately, which is why they turn up in uncirculated condition with notable frequency.
El Salvador's bimetallic coinage of the 1990s preceded the country's dollarization by just a few years — in 2001, the Monetary Integration Law fixed the colón permanently at 8.75 to the dollar and effectively ended the colón as a circulating currency. Coins like this 1997 issue were rendered obsolete almost immediately, which is why they turn up in uncirculated condition with notable frequency.