Panama 1978-FM 20 balboas
This specimen was lot 36424 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2022), where it sold for $2,160. The catalog description[1] noted, "PANAMA. 20 Balboas, 1978-FM. Pennsylvania (Franklin) Mint. NGC MS-67 Deep Prooflike. 75th anniversary of Independence." This NCLT was reissued in 1979. Unfortunately, collecting Panamanian coins lost its popularity after the Franklin mint overissued proof sets and commemoratives in the 1970's and 1980's. For years, few Panamanian coins sold for more than melt. This one, a version of the twenty balboas struck in 1977 and 1979 (KM 44), honored the 75th anniversary of independence.
Recorded mintage: 2,500 plus 23,000 proofs.
Specification: 129.59 g, 0.925 fine silver, 61 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-54.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 ANA Auction - Ancients & World Coins - Featuring The Salton Collection Part III and the Robert C. Knepper Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
Links to:
- 1977-FM 20 balboas, discovery of the Pacific Ocean
- 1978 75 balboas, 75th Anniversary of Independence
- 1978-FM 100 balboas, "Peace and Progress"
- 1978-FM 500 balboas, 30th Anniversary, Organization of American States
- 1980-FM 20 balboas, 150th Anniversary of the death of Simon Bolivar
- Coins and currency dated 1978