Colombia Gold 5 Pesos

Disclosure: Our content does not constitute financial advice. Speak to your financial advisor. We may earn money from companies reviewed.  Learn more

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos have a long and storied history in South America. These pesos have been the currency of Colombia since the year 1810. Weighing in with .2354 troy ounces of gold, these coins also have the same gold purity as the then-dominant British Gold Sovereign coins. This ensured that they were accepted throughout much of South America back in their circulating days and explains why they continue to be popular and trusted by collectors and investors alike today. These more popular and striking of these particular coins were struck from years 1919 to 1928 in honor of the hundred year anniversary of Simon Bolivar becoming president of Columbia.

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos Background and History

The most impressive design of the various Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coins feature a tribute to Simon Bolivar, the so-called George Washington for South America. General Bolivar was leader of the war for independence in the north of this continent. His efforts led to the eventual creation of six separate countries in South and Central America, including Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. He became the President of this Gran Colombia in the year 1819. Though Bolivar counted among his influences the American Thomas Jefferson, British Adam Smith, and French Voltaire, he did not rule as a democratic leader. His belief that South America was not ready for an American type of republic with power shared between a Federal government and regional states led to revolts against his regime which caused the downfall of both his own rule and the superstate of Gran Colombia in 1830.

The Colombia Gold 5 Pesos have been called the “Colombian Sovereign” thanks to their identical gold content match and weight with the well known and internationally accepted British Gold Sovereigns. The connection between these two currencies continued when Colombia pegged the five pesos to the British Sovereign in 1907 at the rate of one British pound sterling to five Colombian pesos. This pegging continued all the way through 1931 until the British Empire abandoned the gold standard. At that point, Colombia elected to transfer its peg over to the still gold backed American dollar.

Since Colombia itself abandoned the gold standard in favor of paper money, they have suffered from significant inflation and a substantial depreciation of their currency. The Senate considered reissing the peso at a rate equal to the 1,000 old pesos from the time of the Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coin.

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos Physical Characteristics

Coin Design

The obverse is the coin collecting universe name for the front side of coins. Colombia Gold 5 Pesos have two different portraits. One shows the stylized effigy of hero Simon Bolivar, the country's military savior and political leader shared in common with the other nations of northern South America. He was president of this large Gran Colombia from the years 1819 to 1830. The other design is one of a man chiselling and quarrying rock. Both designs state Republica De Colombia in an arc across the top of the coin and depict the year of mintage at the coin's bottom obverse.

Coin collectors and investors alike refer to the rear side of coins by the name of reverse. Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coins have a reverse that portrays the national coat of arms of Colombia. Across the top is arched the denomination stated as “Cinco Pesos.” The bottom half of the piece announces the coin weight in grams and gold fineness curved around the rim beneath the coat of arms. This is stated as “G7.988″ and LEY 0.916 2/3.”

Specifications

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos were struck in only the one size and denomination. The standard specifications of this coin are as follows:

• Mass: 7.9881 grams
• Diameter: 22 mm
• Thickness: 1.5 mm
• Gold Content: 0.2355 troy oz
• Purity: 91.67% gold fineness

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos Pricing

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coins are legal tender within the nation of Colombia. The sad part is that their face value of five pesos does not buy anything. The good news is their intrinsic value based on their gold content is worth over $200. It is the spot gold prices which give these coins their intrinsic value. Besides this they gain some premium because of their collectors' demand and historical appeal.

This combines to make the market value which is all important in valuing any portfolio or collection which contains these coins. The market price for Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coins fluctuates alongside the global gold prices. Such gold prices change on a daily basis Sunday through Friday in international gold markets located in London, New York, Chicago, Zurich, Hong Kong, and Singapore. They are constantly updated on our homepage where you can easily find the current spot price of gold.

Can IRA Accounts Contain Colombia Gold 5 Pesos?

Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coins are exotic and unusual to the point you should wonder if the Internal Revenue Service will approve them for inclusion in your precious metals IRA. It is entirely up to them to determine which coins may be a part of these retirement vehicles and which may not. The IRS has two main factors it considers when evaluating coins for approval. These are a high gold fineness of at least .995 and a limited collectability and collectors' premium on the coins themselves.

In order to open this type of gold IRA, you must make an initial gold and other precious metals bullion purchase of at least $5,000 in IRS approved metals. At any later date, you can increase these holdings by additional purchases of at least $1,000. Transferring over assets from your traditional IRAs is a matter of having a roll over done through your existing IRA account administrator. They will handle all of the arrangements on your behalf directly with the administrator of your new self directed IRA account.

The final verdict on the striking Colombia Gold 5 Pesos coins comes down to gold purity issues. While the IRS requires minimally 99.5% gold purity, these coins feature only 91.67% purity. The coins also could fail on the basis of their collectable nature. They do command a significant premium over spot gold prices. Even though the IRS will not allow you to have these lovely pieces of history in your precious metals IRA, you can still collect them in other forms of retirement and investment portfolios and accounts. They offer fantastic financial privacy with which most modern bullion coins simply can not compete. You can pick them up from reputable world gold coin and bullion dealers.

Sign up to learn more. It's free!

If you're worried about the economy and want to learn tips on how to protect your retirement savings in case of another systemic collapse, sign up to our monthly newsletter now for free! We cover topics such as: precious metals investing, inflation, currency devaluation, national debt, the Fed's financial policies, world politics, and much more. Join now and we'll send you a free PDF report entitled “5 scams to avoid when investing in bullion gold & silver”