5 Pesos Aluminium Pattern

Paraguay's monetary system in the late 1930s was still recovering from the catastrophic fiscal drain of the Chaco War against Bolivia, which had ended in 1935 and left the country effectively bankrupt. Pattern coinage from this period reflects repeated attempts by the government to find cheaper alloys for circulation issues — aluminium being an obvious candidate given silver's cost. This piece never reached production; the 5 Pesos denomination was ultimately issued in other compositions.