Gold and Silver Bullion from Colombia

Colombia is rich in natural resources. Gold was prevalent in Colombia during Spanish Colonial times. An estimated $639 million worth of gold was produced in Colombia from 1537 until 1886.

During colonial times gold was used in the production of coins, such as the Gold Escudos, which was commonly available in a variety of denominations.

In 1871 Colombia went onto a gold standard pegged to the French Franc at 5 pesos to 1 franc. This lasted 15 years until 1886 when the gold standard was suspended. Production of gold coins was stopped in lieu of paper banknotes which were not backed by gold which lead to high inflation.

To stabilize the currency, new bank notes were produced and old ones were redeemed at 100 paper pesos to one gold peso. A return to the gold standard was achieved in 1907. In 1913 Colombia again started to mint its own gold coins.

Gold Peso Coins from Colombia

Colombian Gold Peso coins are commonly available on the secondary market today as bullion coins. The Colombian 5 Peso Gold Coin, minted from 1913 to 1930, contains .2355 troy ounces. The Colombian 2 1/2 Peso Gold coin contains .1177 troy ounces of gold. The fineness of these gold coins is an alloy of .917 fine gold.

The Colombian 5 Peso Gold Coin and 2 1/2 Peso Gold Coin mimic the British Sovereign and Half Sovereign in both fineness and weight.

The 2 1/2 Peso Gold coin was minted for only a single year in 1913. Only 18,000 coins were minted.

The 5 Peso Gold Coin has two variations. The first, featuring a miner on the obverse with the Colombian Coat of Arms on the reverse.

In 1919, the design of the Gold 5 Peso coin was revised and the obverse featured a profile portrait of Simon Bolivar.