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Obverse Design
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A ribbon with folds is shown. Three flat folds one above the other form
rectangles for the legends. The other parts of the ribbon in between these
rectangles have vertical lines close together.
The top rectangle says "JUAN".
The middle rectangle says "ARIAS".
The bottom rectangle says "DAVID".
The token has a dentured edge with an inside rim and a slightly raised outside rim.
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Reverse Design
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The reverse has a large number "5" circled by 48 small dots. Legend curving along
the top above the "5" says "VALE" which means "VALUE". Legend curving along
the bottom below the "5" says "CENTAVOS" which means "CENTS".
There is a small Maltese cross on the right and left sides of the circle,
separating the upper and lower legends.
The token has a dentured edge with an inside rim and a slightly raised outside rim.
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Metal
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White metal; Rulau says copper-nickel; from examination I think it may be a
silver alloy.
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Weight
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TBD.
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Size and Shape
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Round, 24.5 mm in diameter; thin flan.
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Dates Issued
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Unknown, but most likely before 1906. Bill Randall has suggested a date of 1890.
Juan Arias (born 1856)
lived in or near David, Chiriqui from 1885 until his death in 1928.
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Issurer
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Juan Arias, who owned a plantation named "La Indiada" near David, Chiriqui. He
was listed as a "General Merchant" in the city of David in the Commercial
Directory of the American Republics (1897-1898), so he may have owned
a store as well.
Many plantation owners in the Boquete region also ran general stores in
David or Boquete.
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Mintage
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Unknown.
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Rarity
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Scarce.
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Manufacturer
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Unknown. Apparently the same manufacturer also made the Carlos Milligen tokens.
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Other Catalog Numbers
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Asociación Numismático's F-197,
Henkle's Chiriqui 41 (photo of stars reverse with 37 dots),
Plumer page #6 and Rulau's Chq 21 (photo of stars reverse with 51 dots)
(None of these catalogs distinguish between the two star varieties and the crosses
varieties). Henao HDA 188-1 and Schimmel #41 (for this variety).
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Varieties
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Varieties of this token are many. I have found there to be three different
reverse dies used. One variety (perhaps the first chronologically) has
small Maltese crosses as the two dividers on the reverse. It has 48 small dots
surrounding the "5". The other two die
varieties have six-point stars as the dividers. One of the stars varieties has
extra long denticles on the reverse, and 51 small dots surrounding the "5". The
other has about equal denticles on the obverse and reverse, and 37 small dots
surrounding the "5". All three die varieties are known with
an "FT" counterstamp, and the star 51 dots variety is also known with a large
center hole.
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Variantes
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Existen dos variantes muy notorias del reverso de esta ficha. En una de
ellas la leyenda está separada por cruces de Malta y en la otras se utilizan estrellas con
este fin. La de las estrellas puede tener además 37 ó 51 puntos en el circulo que rodea el
5 central. Las gráfilas denteladas también varían en tamaño. Algunas de las fichas fueron
reselladas hacia 1930 por Frank Tedman con FT en monograma.
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Function
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Merchant token and/or plantation token.
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Population Count
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Seven specimens of this variety in collector hands are known to me.
Recent sales for this variety include:
- Auction sale on ebay on August 10, 2001 for $16.07 plus $4 shipping.
- Auction sale on ebay on November 30, 2005 for $29.00 plus $1.50 shipping.
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Notes
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Juan Arias (whose full name was Juan de Dios Arias Ávila) was born March 8, 1856
in Panama City, Panama. His parents were Juan Fco Arias Perez (May 24, 1823 to
about 1900) and Manuela Maria Avila. His brother was Tomas Arias, one of the
founding fathers of Panama.
In 1885, at around the age of 28, Juan Arias left Panama City and moved to the
city of David in the province of Chiriqui. He became the owner of a very large
property. This finca (plantation) was named "La Indiada". Juan Arias
married Domitila Quintero Villareal (sister of General Manuel Quintero Villareal).
She was born in Pese, province of Herrera on May 12, 1865 and died
February 2, 1927 in David, Chiriqui. They had ten children.
Juan Arias passed away shortly after his wife on July 3, 1928 in David, Chiriqui.
My informant, Jose Domingo Arias (a descendent of Juan Arias), was unable to tell
me the purchaser of the finca, but speculated
that it was probably broken up since it was so large.
Ignacio Henao researched these tokens and also contacted a descendent of Juan Arias.
He was told that Carlos Millingen married a half-sister of Juan Arias, so the
two of them were brothers-in-law.
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Speculation
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Some Carlos Millingen tokens had the crosses counterstamped with a fleur-di-li.
I wonder if this was done during World War I since the crosses resembled the
insignia used by the German armed forces. Similarly, I wonder if the crosses
variety of the Juan Arias token were issued prior to World War I and the
stars varieties were issued during and after World War I.
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Notas Históricas
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Juan de Dios Arias Ávila (1856-1928) vivió hasta 1885 en la ciudad de Panamá y
a partir de entonces en David, en la costa Pacifica del entonces departamento de
Panamá, cerca de la frontera con Costa Rica. Era propietario de una gran finca
llamada La Indiada en el distrito de Boquete, al norte de David, hacia el centro del istmo.
Su nombre aparece en la lista de comerciantes de David del
Commercial Directory of the American Republics de 1897-1898.
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