PT-45.50 (BARROWS PANAMA COFFEE LANDS 50 cents)
Scale: 8 pixels equals one millimeter
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Obverse Design
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The legend "BARROWS PANAMA" curves along the top.
The token says "COFFEE" and "LANDS" in two lines horizontally across the bottom
half of the token.
Above "COFFEE" is an ornament that looks like an elaborate "&".
On either side of the word "LANDS" is a dash.
Under the word "LANDS" is an elaborate branch ornament.
The token has a somewhat weak dentured edge, and a smooth raised rim.
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Reverse Design
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The center of the token has a large "50" (no cent sign).
The legend "GOOD FOR" curves along the top.
The legend "IN TRADE" curves along the bottom.
The normal star dividers are missing from this denomination.
The token has a dentured edge, and a smooth raised rim.
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Metal
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Brass.
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Size and Shape
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Round, 33.5 mm in diameter.
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Dates Issued
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Unknown.
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Issurer
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Barrows Panama Coffee Lands.
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Mintage
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Unknown.
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Rarity
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Common.
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Manufacturer
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Unknown.
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Source
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Conte Porras page #107 (photo), Henkle's Unknown Panama Locality #8 (rubbing),
Mizrachi's F-62 (photo),
Rulau's Pan 1, Plumer page #1.
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Varieties
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None known.
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Function
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Plantation token.
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Population Count
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Known specimens are as follows:
- ANS Collection Specimen, referenced by Henkle.
- Ayala Specimen, pictured below.
- Banco Nacional de Panama specimen pictured in Conte Porras.
- Henkle references one sale in May 1983 for $27 in condition EF as #1FOX.
- Henkle references one sale in January 1987 for $15 in condition EF as #2ALZ.
- Henkle references another sale in January 1987 for $17.50 in condition UNC as #3ALZ.
- King Specimen, pictured above.
- Majilton Specimen in EF condition, sold at the Jess Peters January 1975
Auction in Miami Beach, Florida, as Lot #226.
- Mizrachi Specimen, pictured in his catalog.
- Plowman Specimen, sold on ebay by Cora Hudson ('thumpa') for $53 on May 6, 2001.
- Plumer Specimen, cited in his catalog.
- Zaffern Specimen, referenced by Rulau in his catalog.
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Notes
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The Barrows Coffee Lands were most likely located in Chiriqui, in the mountaneous
area near Boquete. This area is the only area in Panama known for having good
conditions for growing coffee.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
small minds." If so, the designer/manufacturer of the BARROWS series had a
large mind. The inconsistencies in this series include the five cent piece
has "IN MERCHANDISE" instead of "IN TRADE" like the rest of the series. The
50 cent piece does not have the cent sign or the star dividers that the rest
of the series has. The 2 1/2 cent piece has a different ornament under the
word "LANDS" than the others. The font-type, especially that of the large numerals,
varies from denomination to denomination. These inconsistencies suggest that
these tokens were made "on the cheap", perhaps by an inexperienced manufacturer.
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More Examples of PT45-50
Scale: 6 pixels equals one millimeter
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