I was looking through some of my old 20 Balboas, and reappreciated this 1971 20 Balboas. And this an uncirculated coin only! I know there are many that vilified the Franklin Mint, but it was hard to argue with artistic merit on their coins or the technical quality in striking them:
To be honest, I don't own much from the Franklin mint. I do love the portrait here, Panamanian coins are among my favorites for their portraiture alone.
The engraving skills on many FM coins is incredible. The depth on their proofs you can sink into. I have many from Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad etc. and my avatar. And I have the 20 Balboas as a 1974 Proof,
I agree with the beauty of Franklin mint Panama stuff. How much is this 20 Balboas worth? Does it not have 4 troy ounces of sterling?
They are large. The accompanying certificate of authenticity states it contains 2000 grains of sterling silver Type Non-circulating coin Years 1972-1976 Value 20 Balboas 20 PAB = 20 USD Currency Balboa (1904-date) Composition Silver (.925) Weight 129.59 g Diameter 61 mm Thickness 4.7 mm Shape Round Orientation Medal alignment ↑↑ References KM# 31
I think the vilification was over the often cheesy collector sets they manufactured, but I don't think FM's technical expertise was ever in question. I've owned a few of their legal tender coins and their work was routinely first rate from everything I've seen.
Yes, I quite agree with that last. However, the pall seems to have extended over their perfectly decent coins; admittedly many were overpriced for the time and their "subscription" service advertised in papers and telly were a ripoff & not to mention the assorted special Barbie dolls, car models, plated jewelry, repro Michael Jackson paraphernalia. Although mintages were listed up through about 1980-81, some are very misleading. In fact, some at the same mintage levels are much scarcer than others. Both the 1975 and 1975FM coins are listed at 2500 mintage, but even though many of the 1976s were noted to have been melted, it has been my experience that the earlier coin is scarcer in real world terms of availability. I got one out of Eastern Europe and another from Netherlands by recall, but got three of the 1976s on Ebay without much struggle & then didn't bother with any others.
I'm not big on the NCLT but I love their set versions of circulating coins. They have incredible quality.
Yes, I am also of that thought. Some of the smaller denominations did initially circulate in Belize, but have found some of Panama and even Barbados and Trinidad - including very rare dates - that did as well. I have posted on a few of these, and as they come up on different sales venues can be very inexpensive. I think of the Hansen collection now being put together - is is of USA coins, and he is seeking one of every coin struck. The gentleman putting it together is single handedly running up the price of rare US coins, and pushing rarities even further away from the "everyman collector". I laugh as I get a coin with a mintage probably less than 10 and not even recorded for perhaps 3-4 dollars and ranging up to generally less than 100. A good deal of hunting is required, but for the true collector it is a joy. Combine that with the fact that many are very attractive, and it makes a very nice genre of coins to collect.