Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="dalbert, post: 4242727, member: 111306"]I realize this is an old thread, but I have some information that may still be of interest.  I lived in the Canal Zone of Panama from 1973-1977, ages 7 to 11.  I was the youngest member of the Crossroads Coin Club, which I attended with my mother, and over those 4 years, I assembled a respectable Panama coin collection.  I recall other members telling me that up through at least the 1970's, all Panamanian coinage was minted in Philadelphia.  In the former Canal Zone, and in Panama itself, the U.S. Dollar and the Panamanian Balboa were 1:1, and the coinage was interchangeable.  They were the same weight and size, except for the novelty coins, such as the 1904 "pill" (2.5 centesimos), the 5 Balboa, and the 20 Balboa.  Panama did not have paper currency, and used the U.S. Dollar.  When we went to the bank, we could combine Panamanian and U.S. coins in rolls, and a mix of change was customarily received received during any local transaction.  The 1904 "pill" was always a collectors item.  I remember some members had rolls of them, which looked kind of cool.  Danco made a Panamanian coin album for collecting, and I still have my collection. Somewhere, I still have membership cards from that old coin club... David Albert[/QUOTE]