50 Balboas Christmas

Panama's gold holiday issues of the early 1980s were produced under contract by the Franklin Mint, which held an aggressive licensing arrangement with the Panamanian government throughout that decade to produce collector coinage with limited domestic monetary function. The .500 fineness is notably low for a gold commemorative of this period — most sovereign gold issues held to .900 or .999 — and reflects a deliberate cost-reduction strategy aimed at retail collector price points rather than bullion value.

Mintages for these Franklin Mint Panama issues were typically controlled and sold directly through subscription, meaning circulated survivors are essentially nonexistent.