I learned recently that several Panamanian coins were minted in the United States between 1904 and 1983, yet I have not been able to find an accurate listing of which ones could have potentially been minted in the US nor how to identify a characteristic that would indicate the country of origin. Being that they do not feature a mint mark,how can I tell if any of my Panamanian coins are minted here in America?
I too have never seen a mint mark on a Panama coin. Here is what the Krause catalog states: MINT MARKS FM - Franklin Mint, U.S.A. CHI in circle - Valcambi Mint, Balerna, Switzerland RCM – Royal Canadian Mint
Here's some info on it: http://www.pdxcoinclub.org/articles/Foreign Coins Struck at US Mints CWNA article with table.pdf
I have a book at home titled something like "Foreign Coins Manufactured at US Mints". I'm pretty sure it shows that the USA made coins for Panama & I'll check it tonight. I just assumed that all the no mint mark Panama coins were minted at the Philadelphia mint. I'll be gad to see what some of the experts tell us in this thread.
Yes, that chart looks like it is from the book. The book has detail pages for each country. It shows the quantity, denomination, size, weight, composition, etc. It is a great reference to have when trying to determine what foreign planchet a coin is struck upon. When the US mint is making a foreign coin, there is always the chance that a planchet or struck foreign coin might accidentally get struck as a US coin.
Sounds like an interesting book. Maybe I'll look for a copy of it. In that chart, it shows a mintmark M on two Philippines entries. Anybody know what that mintmark would be?
"M" with the mintmark of the Manila Mint when the Philippines was an unincorporated territory of the USA.
Thanks for the link. That table was actually what turnedme on to the fact that some foreign coins were minted here in the US. I have a varietyof coins from foreign countries and I sorted through all of them last night to see if Ihad any that met the criteria in that list. The only two maybes I had were a 1968 Canadian 10 Cent piece (which Iruled out due to V shaped reeding) and a bag full of Panamanian coins. I was easily able to find a foolproof way toverify the Canadian coin's origin, however, there doesn’t seem to be much about thatPanamanian coins online. At first, Iassumed the lack of mint mark and lack of readily available information impliedthat all Panamanian coins between these dates were exclusively struck in theUS, but I’d rather seek out more evidence to support or rule this out. My ultimate goal is to be able to isolatethese coins and display them with my US Coins, US coins being my primary areaof focus. I really admire the craftsmanshipof the US Mint and I believe these domestically minted foreign coins deserve aplace next to their US counterparts.
I previously posted about the book here at CT. As I recall someone showed us in that thread that the book was available online for free. :hail: I recall typing the exact title of the book (The real title is a really long title). If you search that title, you should be able to find the thread and the link. I'll find the book & the link tonight.
Domestic and Foreign Coins Manufactured by Mints of the United States 1793-1970 The complete title of the book is: Domestic and Foreign Coins Manufactured by Mints of the United States 1793-1970 Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Mint, Price 75 cents, stock number 4805-00012 There are three pages that detail the Panama coins made (in both Philadelphia and San Francisco) between 1904 and 1970. I couldn't find the free Web link by searching CT for it. You might be able to find the free copy on the web with your own search.
I was able to track down a free PDF version of the book @ http://www.keysquality.com/downloads/domesticforeign.pdf There is a section regarding Panama starting on pg 108 (pg 108 of the PDF document, not pg 108 of the original text).
KM 13 1947 Balboa Have this one, 1947 Balboa minted for Panama by Philadelphia mint on silver dollar blanks.