1898 5 Centavos Colombia

The 1898 5 Centavos from Colombia was struck at the Heaton mint in Birmingham, England, a common but often overlooked detail for Latin American coins of that era.

That outsourcing meant Colombian currency sometimes traveled farther than its users did. The coin itself is bronze, weighing about 2.5 grams, and features a simple design: a liberty cap on the obverse and the Colombian coat of arms on the reverse. Mintage figures? Lost to time, probably in one of the region's many upheavals.

Production quirks included using recycled metal, though not always from Spanish reales as some tales suggest. If you're chasing a specimen, expect wear from heavy circulation in rural areas.

The patina on these can fool novices into thinking they're rare artifacts. They aren't.