Owner Comments:
Bolivia - 1942 50 Centavos - KM #182a.1 - Mintage: 10,000,000
This coin was part of a three-coin series which included zinc 10 and 20 Centavos and a bronze 50 Centavos, all dated 1942, all struck with medallic rotation, and all struck at the United States mint in Philadelphia. The three coins all have similar designs. The obverses depict the Bolivian arms which feature the Potosi mountain silver mine, a palm tree, and an alpaca. The reverses have a caduceus, the denomination and date. Bolivia's mines supplied much needed tin to the Allies during World War II.
There are two version of this issue, original (KM-182a.1) and restrike (KM-182a.2). The original was struck by the Philadelphia mint in 1942. The restrike is a bit of a mystery as of this revision. It is unclear why it was struck, who struck it, or when it was actually struck. It is easy to differentiate between the two though since the restrike is poorly struck and lacking in detail. It was definitely not struck by any of the U.S. Mints.
This coin has beautiful bright red centers, darkening to a light cherry red around the periphery. High grade red uncirculated examples of this coin abound, but ultra high grade coins like this one don't come along very often.
Date acquired: 2/2/2014 (Already graded by PCGS)
Rev.: 1/23/2022