Panama 1983-FM 20 balboas KM-93
This specimen was lot 45526 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $336. The catalog description[1] noted, "PANAMA. Silver 20 Balboas, 1983-FM. NGC MS-65 Deep Prooflike. Struck for the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Simon Bolivar. A bright and well struck prooflike coin with some haze." This denomination was first used for large silver commemoratives in 1971 and the Franklin Mint issued all of them until 1985. 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. We don't know why the Franklin Mint, having gone to the trouble of designing and marketing such a large and impressive silver coin, chose to use 0.500 fine silver. This only speeded up the tarnishing process.
Recorded mintage: 500 plus 3,186 proofs.
Specification: 118.57 g, 0.500 fine silver, 61 mm diameter, 1.9061 oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM-93.
- 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 August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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