A 1980 5-peso coin from Colombia that I’ve only half noticed before now. This is a first-year example of a very common type, of an attractive blond copper alloy, that was coined from 1980-89 until being replaced by a smaller 5-peso coin of different design (both large and small 5-peso coins exist dated 1989).
Every once in a while over the years I’ve glanced at these 1980-89 5-peso coins and been nagged by the unarticulated conviction that something was wrong in the odd posture of the woman. (Her hands look as if they’re behind her back....) But the coin’s reverse depicts an apparent run-of-the-mill industrial scene.
Finally, the other day, I took a good long look at this 5-peso coin and then Googled the word beneath the figure, “Policarpa.”
Policarpa Salavarrietta was a hero of Colombia’s war of independence against Spain. The date of her birth is unknown, and is thought to be sometime between 1791 and 1796. The date of her death, however, is known exactly: November 14, 1817.
On this 1980 5-peso piece, “La Pola,” (as Policarpa was known to her contemporaries), does indeed have her hands tied behind her back. She is in front of a firing squad. And it is November 14th, 1817....the moment before her death.
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