World coins chat: Bolivia

Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America. The western and southern parts of the country were once part of the Inca Empire. Bolivia shares a lot of its history with Peru, and these were even in a union between 1836 and 1839.

Bolivia declared independence in 1825, and the Bolivian Sol replaced the Spanish Colonial Real at par two years later. In 1863, the Boliviano replaced the Sol at a rate of 8 to 1, and the Boliviano was pegged to 5 French Francs and based on a silver standard. In 1908, after a series of price decreases in silver, the Boliviano was pegged to sterling at a rate of 12.5/£. This rate was adjusted upwards in the next decades until 160/£ in 1939. In 1940, the US Dollar was used for pegging at a rate of 40/$. The Boliviano did not stop falling and was replaced by the Peso Boliviano in 1963 at a rate of 1000 to 1, and 11.88 Pesos Bolivianos was worth 1 Dollar.

Between 1980 and 1986, the Peso Boliviano fell from 25/$ to 1,923,000/$, which was a consequence of the very high interest rates in the US causing a lot of US capital fleeing foreign markets back to the USA, and of course the vulnerability of the underdeveloped Bolivian economy. The 2nd Boliviano replaced the Peso Boliviano at a rate of 1 million to one in 1986, with first coins in 1987. This Boliviano stayed relatively stable and trades at 6.9/$ in 2015.

Bolivian coins are fairly hard to find. My collection starts in 1937. During the hyperinflation of the Peso Boliviano, no coins were used.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/bolivie-1.html

In Bolivia the spanish found the huge silver mountain Cerro Rico in Potosí, the most important silver deposit of America. Thousands of tonnes of silver were extracted from the mountain, minted in the mint in Potosí and brought to Europe, where the spanish crown used big parts of it to pay debts to other european countries, so the bolivian silver was spreaded to the whole world.
The bolivian silver mine was so important that in colonial times they borrowed its name and gave it to the mexican silver mines "San Luis Potosí".
The mint in Potosí was still used until 1953 (being the only mint producing coins for Bolivia until 1909), nowadays all bolivian coins are produced in Chile, North America or Europe.
There's an interesting story about the 1937 coinage. In 1937 the socialist president David Toro was in charge and wanted to introduce the futuristic looking coins. But before they came to Bolivia, the government had changed. The new president Germán Busch didn't allow the new coin series. The 10 Centavos actually came to Bolivia but weren't used, but the 50 Centavos didn't even come to Bolivia. Many of the 1937 coins were melted, the 10 Centavos aren't so rare but the 50 Centavos are.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4904.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces45066.html

On the dashboard thread I could see that Bolivia is one of the white spots on many maps. The coins are not very often to find because of the rather small population of the country.

Here's a set of 1-denominated coins:


1 boliviano, 1951


1 peso boliviano, 1968


1 second boliviano, 2008

The Bolivian coat of arms looks about the same whether it is upside-down or right-side-up, so I often see people get the orientation of the newer coins wrong. Maybe it's just part of President Morales' plan to end colonialism by declaring that "proper orientation" is just a northern-hemisphero-centric social construct? (To help you in the future - the eagle should be on top.)


The latest bolivianos are very plain, but I don't mind their utilitarian design.

My last South American independant country to find (joint with Falklands, but their easiest coinage is from the British Overseas currency). Just add St-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a few Central American and Caribbean countries to fill the whole American map, as French Overseas territories are using the National/European currency since a few decades.

Citação: DonChoriThere's an interesting story about the 1937 coinage. In 1937 the socialist president David Toro was in charge and wanted to introduce the futuristic looking coins. But before they came to Bolivia, the government had changed. The new president Germán Busch didn't allow the new coin series. The 10 Centavos actually came to Bolivia but weren't used, but the 50 Centavos didn't even come to Bolivia. Many of the 1937 coins were melted, the 10 Centavos aren't so rare but the 50 Centavos are.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4904.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces45066.html

Because I remembered your fascinating story, I had to buy one of these coins when I saw it offered for sale...

To my knowledge this is the only coin in the world to be authentically, properly "art deco" in style.

Nice one!!
Interestingly even though they never circulated, you can find some worn coins of this type in Bolivian coin lots. So, maybe some of these coins did circulate together with the 1935, 1936 and 1939 ones that look different but have the same weight and diameter until they were replaced by the 1942 coinage.

Citação: nalaberong

Citação: DonChoriThere's an interesting story about the 1937 coinage. In 1937 the socialist president David Toro was in charge and wanted to introduce the futuristic looking coins. But before they came to Bolivia, the government had changed. The new president Germán Busch didn't allow the new coin series. The 10 Centavos actually came to Bolivia but weren't used, but the 50 Centavos didn't even come to Bolivia. Many of the 1937 coins were melted, the 10 Centavos aren't so rare but the 50 Centavos are.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4904.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces45066.html

Because I remembered your fascinating story, I had to buy one of these coins when I saw it offered for sale...

To my knowledge this is the only coin in the world to be authentically, properly "art deco" in style.

Or the 1st coin wearing Pac-Man? XD

First Bolivian coin found: 50 centavos 1997.

DonChoriThere's an interesting story about the 1937 coinage. In 1937 the socialist president David Toro was in charge and wanted to introduce the futuristic looking coins. But before they came to Bolivia, the government had changed. The new president Germán Busch didn't allow the new coin series. 

the moment i saw these coins (i don't exactly remember where; probably in a discussion about art deco coin design) i fell in love with the design.
not only the futuristic font but also the coat of arms of Bolivia i find very beautiful.

 

i consulted some Wikipedia articles (i.e. the history of Bolivia; the Government Junta of Bolivia; David Toro) and some of the references, but unfortunately i wasn't able to find anything specific about the design of the 1937 coins.

perhaps being able to understand spanish would help a lot, but i also guess, i just don't know where to look for this kind of information.
i'm a newbie when it comes to numismatics.

 

can somebody please recommend some sources of information about the design of the 1937 coins?

thank you 😊

nalaberong

Quote: DonChoriThere's an interesting story about the 1937 coinage. In 1937 the socialist president David Toro was in charge and wanted to introduce the futuristic looking coins. But before they came to Bolivia, the government had changed. The new president Germán Busch didn't allow the new coin series. The 10 Centavos actually came to Bolivia but weren't used, but the 50 Centavos didn't even come to Bolivia. Many of the 1937 coins were melted, the 10 Centavos aren't so rare but the 50 Centavos are.
N#4904
N#45066

Because I remembered your fascinating story, I had to buy one of these coins when I saw it offered for sale...

To my knowledge this is the only coin in the world to be authentically, properly "art deco" in style.

What about those interwar French 10 and 20 Franc coins - those are later 20s deco, but still deco. Thats like 1937 streamlined Carmen Miranda style that coin.

thanks to @adanieluy  who shared a document (published by Banco Central de Bolivia) with me, i was able to find some information about the 1937 coins in the "Virtual Museum of Money" of the BCB (archived from the original).

this is an excerpt from it:

 

El mismo cuño del reverso fue utilizado en 1937 para la acuñación de monedas de níquel de 10 (figs. 121-122) y 50 centavos, las cuales hacen alusión a los símbolos de los gobiernos socialistas bolivianos de los presidentes David Toro y Germán Busch Becerra. 

La moneda de 50 centavos es muy cotizada actualmente en el mercado numismático nacional ya que, de acuerdo a algunas fuentes, muchas de ellas fueron derretidas a su llegada a Bolivia. 

El diseño anterior fue utilizado nuevamente en 1939 para la acuñación de monedas de 10 (figs. 123-124) y 50 centavos (figs. 125-126), acuñadas en níquel en la ceca de Le Lóele.

 

The same reverse die was used in 1937 for the minting of nickel coins of 10 (figs. 121-122) and 50 centavos, which allude to the symbols of the Bolivian socialist governments of Presidents David Toro and Germán Busch Becerra. 
The 50 centavos coin is highly valued today in the national numismatic market since, according to some sources, many of them were melted upon their arrival in Bolivia. 
The previous design was used again in 1939 for the minting of 10 (figs. 123-124) and 50 centavos (figs. 125-126), minted in nickel at the Le Locle mint.

 

unfortunately, it doesn't contain any new information.
in particular, it doesn't provide sources for the claim that most of the 50 centavos coins were melted upon (or before?) arrival in Bolivia.
nor does it explain why the new design was rejected.

 

still, i'm grateful for the help so far 🙏