Panama Catalogs
Catálogos Numismáticos de Panamá
The following is a list of catalogs which include coins, tokens,
medals and similar items pertaining to Panama and the Canal Zone.
With each catalog is a short review and some
idea of price and/or rarity. The catalogs are not rated.
After the list of catalogs is also a list of
Panama coin albums.
These reviews are solely my personal opinion
as of the time of review, presented as a service. I make no guarantees
that your opinion will match mine. Purchase or read these catalogs at your own risk -
I disclaim all responsibility.
For your convenience I have inserted links to several online sellers for used books
that may have some of these catalogs available
(also for my convenience, since I get a small commission if you buy something
after using these links).
Asociación Numismático De Panamá Catálogo Numismático De Panamá.
Panama: 1996. Softcover, 122 pages.
The ANP's catalog is the most complete catalog in print of Panama items. It includes
modern coins, bills from the Columbian era and Arias notes, tokens, medals, checks,
casino chips and wooden nickels. However, it is in Spanish. Many pieces are illustrated
with black and whites photos, most but not all of which are of good quality.
I have counted five of them sold on ebay over a six month period for anywhere
from $10 to $25. The average price was about $14.
Bernal M., Enrique Fichas De Columbia Numismalia.
Caracas: 1988. Softcover, 130 pages.
Bernal's work is about Columbian tokens, but he includes Panama up until about 1903,
when Panama gained independence from Columbia. This work is in Spanish, and
has been used as a source for later works such as Rulau's.
Betts, C. Wyllys American Colonial History illustrated by
Contemporary Medals
New York: 1894. Reprinted Glendale, New York: Benchmark Publishing Company,
Inc., 1970. Hardcover, 332 pages.
Bett's work is the most common reference used for the Admiral Vernon medals.
It lists about 160 varieties, and illustrates about 15 of them. It has
extensive and clear descriptions, and is an important resource. Prices are
usually $60 or more. For your
convenience I have inserted a link box to buy this book from Amazon.
Conte Porras, J. Colección Numismátic Panameña.
Panama: 1982. Softcover, 123 pages.
This work was published (in Spanish) by the Banco Nacional de Panamá, and
contains 80 pages of photographs of the National Bank of Panama's numismatic
collection. It has been superceded by later works such as that of
Asociación Numismático, but
the pictures in Conte Porras are nicer. The text does not have a lot of
useful information, so you are not missing that much if you can not read Spanish.
They are quite rare, but one of these books sold on ebay in September, 2001 for
$36.
Cunningham, Paul A. Military Tokens of the United States: Volume 2 (Overseas Issues).
Tecumseh, Michigan: Michigan Exonomia Publishers, 1998.
Cunningham has extensive coverage of all the Canal Zone Military Tokens, and
includes many not tokens found elsewhere. Ten of them have illustrations, so many
tokens do not have illustrations. The volume is very large (461 pages) out of which
ten pages are about the Canal Zone. It costs approximately $45, and can be acquired
through www.exonumia.com.
Curto, James J. Military Tokens of the United States 1866-1969.
Iola: Krause Publications, 1970. Hardcover, 304 pages.
Curto was a pioneer in cataloging military tokens, and Curto's book is the most
well-known catalog covering military tokens including the Canal Zone. It is a
precursor of Cunningham's which has more extensive coverage. There was also
a small 39-page booklet entitled Post Exchange Canteen & Other Military Tokens
by Curto from before 1970 and a Revised Check List & Valuation of Military Tokens
(86 pages) that was published later. Curto's books are frequently found on ebay.
Grigore, Captain Julius. Coins and Currency of Panama.
Iola: Krause Publications, 1972. Hardcover.
Grigore's work includes a lot of history and background, making it interesting
reading even now, many years after it was written. He covers regular issue
coinage, the Arias bills, and official Canal Zone medals. Copies can be found
at used book dealers, Amazon and on ebay from time to time. For your
convenience I have inserted a link box to buy this book from Amazon.
Hamlin, Eugene E. "Canal Zone Brass Checks" in
The Panama Collector for September, 1985.
Hamlin's article on the Canal Zone metal checks is interesting and full of
information, most of which I have included in this catalog. Rulau and
the Asociación Numismático used Hamlin's article as a source.
Henkle, David E. Checklist of Latin American Tokens.
Unpublished manuscript, Chicago: 1985-1991.
Henkle's work served as the basis for Rulau's catalog. However, Henkle also
includes the military tokens and some other items outside the scope of Rulau's
catalog. The coverage of Panama is quite impressive. As it is an unpublished
work, it is difficult to find a copy.
Henao, Ignacio Alberto Fichas de Colombia.
Medellín: L. Vieco e Hijas Ltda., 2003. Softcover, 122 pages.
Henao's work covers the tokens of Colombia including Panama up until 1903. His work is
nicely illustrated and includes all the information on this sub-group of tokens that was
available on the coins-of-panama.com website by 2003 as well as original research by
Ignacio Henao. It was published in Colombia, and it is difficult to find a copy in
the United States.
Hill, Ruth Trial Listing of Military Chits.
Missouri: 1969. Softcover, 39 pages.
Hill's catalog was the first attempt I am aware of to catalog the military chits
including those of the Canal Zone, and even today is the standard reference. It
has two pages covering the Canal Zone and illustrations of four chits in black
and white.
Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler 2005 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-Present (Standard Catalog of World Coins).
Iola: Krause Publications, 2004. Softcover, 2288 pages.
This catalog covers all World Coins of the 20th and 21st centuries, including all the
regular Republic of Panama issues. This is the reference of choice for world
coin dealers and collectors. One drawback is that you have to purchase the
whole book (which is somewhat expensive) to obtain the relatively few pages of
interest to Panama specialists. For your convenience I am attaching a link
to Amazon. Another option is to buy used the catalog from the previous year.
Krause, Chester L. Guidebook of Franklin Mint Issues: 1976 Edition.
Iola: Krause Publications, 1976. Softcover.
This catalog covers all the issues of the Franklin Mint from 1965 through 1976,
which was a period when the Franklin Mint minted many coins and medals including
a number of issues related to Panama. Many of the individual pieces are not
illustrated. Overall, this catalog is of limited usefulness to the Panama collector,
but does provide some information regarding the Franklin Mint medals especially,
which has not been published elsewhere. I found my copy on ebay for $10, but this
catalog is quite rare.
McCormick-Goodhart, Leander. Admiral Vernon Medals.
New York: Numismatic Review, 1945. Softcover, 39 pages.
McCormick-Goodhart has the most extensive list of Admiral Vernon medals I've seen,
listing 241 varieties. There are photographs of 37 of the varieties. The
descriptions are concise and not as complete as those of Betts. This is a
very useful reference, but also quite rare.
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McFadden, Roger R., John Grost and Dennis Marr.
The Numismatic Aspects of Leprosy: Money, Medal's, & Miscellanea.
D.C. McDonald Associates, 1993. Hardcover, 167 pages.
The countries included in this book are: Brazil, China, Columbia, Costa Rica,
Danish West Indies, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Panama Canal Zone (Palo Seco), Philippines, Thailand and Venezuela.
Illustrated by black and white photos.
Plumer, Warren Lloyd Canal Zone Military Chits.
Virgina: 1976,1985. Unbound Paper, 22 pages.
Plumer's catalog has the most complete coverage available of Canal Zone military
chits. Many of the chits have black and white photocopies in the manuscript. It
does however miss a few of the chits mentioned in Hill's catalog.
Plumer, Warren Lloyd Panama & C Z Tokens: A Trial Listing.
Virgina: 1975. Unbound Paper, 10 pages.
Plumer's catalog was used as a source by Rulau and other more recent
catalogers, and therefore has been superceded. A copy sold on ebay in October, 2001
for $6.
Rulau, Russell. Latin American Tokens.
Iola: Krause Publications, 2000 (Second Edition). Softcover, 479 pages.
Rulau's catalog is the token reference of choice for most American token dealers.
It includes mostly tokens, but does have a subset of the metal checks and even
one medal and one badge. Rulau includes most of the known tokens and has
black and white photos for the majority of them. He does not include the Canal
Zone military tokens. This catalog is currently available
from Amazon.com inexpensively
(original list price was $38).
Schimmel, Jerry F. Panama Tokens.
San Francisco: 1990. Softcover, 18 pages.
Schimmel covers the tokens of Panama and the Canal Zone. He lists 68 tokens with descriptions
and includes drawings of 41 of them. He also has auction prices for about 30 of them (prices
as they were in the 1980's). This booklet is rare.
Stickney, Brian R. Numismatic History of Republic of Panama.
San Antonio: Almanzar's Coins of the World, 1971. Softcover, 64 pages.
Stickney covers the regular circulation coinage of Panama from 1904 to 1970. He
includes grading information, history and background. This catalog is therefore
still of interest in spite of the date and the limited coverage. It is out of
print but seen from time to time on ebay. I have counted six sold on ebay in the
last six months for anywhere from $6 to $16. The average price is about $8.50.
Coin Albums
Álbumes para la Moneda Panameña
There are no coin albums to hold Panama coins currently being made. Below is a list
of coin albums which were made in the past and are sometimes available.
- Dansco Panama Type Set Album
Dansco put out an album around 1962 that had places for a
type set of Panama coins from 1904 to 1961. It was titled "PANAMA TYPE SET".
There was a total of three pages
and 28 ports for coin placement. One of these sold on ebay in March, 2002 for $7
and another one sold later the same month for $5.
Dansco Republic of Panama Album
Dansco put out an album between 1962 and 1966 that had places for a complete
date set of Panama coins from 1904 to 1962. It was titled "REPUBLIC OF PANAMA".
After 1966 an additional page was added for the 1966 date set.
There was a total of five pages and 58 ports for
coin placement. One of these sold on ebay in March, 2002 for $22 and another
one sold later the same month for an amazing $52.
Dansco Panama 1966 and after Album
Dansco put out an album around 1966 that had places for the 1966 coins as
well as unlabeled ports. It was titled "PANAMA 1966-".
One of these sold on ebay in February 2002 for $26.
Whitman Panama Type Set Album
Whitman published a Panama Type Set Album around 1962 titled "PANAMA TYPE
COLLECTION". It had 28 ports on three pages and the date range was 1904
through 1961. One of these sold on ebay in June 2002 for an amazing $33.
Please send me an
if you know of
a catalog that should be added to this list.
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