Chile KM#189 1 Centesimo 1960-1963 VF—Condor, Date varies

A lightly circulated example of Chile's first Escudo-era coinage — struck in lightweight aluminium at the Casa de Moneda de Chile in Santiago and featuring the magnificent Andean Condor in full flight. Date varies within the 1960–1963 series.

Obverse

• Colors: silver-gray aluminium
• Design: Flying Andean Condor, wings spread
• Lettering: REPUBLICA DE CHILE

Reverse

• Colors: silver-gray aluminium
• Design: Denomination above date, flanked by grain sprigs
• Lettering: Eº 1 / CENTESIMO / [year] / So

Other Characteristics

• Catalog numbers: KM# 189; Schön# 30; Numista N#3760
• Composition: Aluminium
• Weight: 3 g
• Diameter: 29 mm
• Thickness: 2 mm
• Shape: Round
• Edge: Plain
• Orientation: Coin alignment ↑↓
• Mint: Casa de Moneda de Chile, Santiago (1743–date); mintmark So
• Years issued: 1960–1963
• Currency: Escudo (1960–1975)
• Demonetized: 29 September 1975
• Issuer: Banco Central de Chile

The King of the Andes, Pressed in Aluminium

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is the largest flying bird on Earth by combined wingspan and weight — spreading up to 3.3 meters of wing across the sky and riding thermal currents along the spine of the Andes from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. It can soar for hours without a single wingbeat, covering over 200 kilometers in a day. The Inca considered it a messenger of the gods, a creature that carried the souls of the dead to the heavens. The Spanish colonizers, for all their efforts to erase Andean cosmology, couldn’t dislodge the condor from the cultural imagination of the continent.

Chile put it on this coin in 1960, the first year of the Escudo — a new currency introduced as Chile tried to modernize its monetary system and tame runaway inflation. The Escudo replaced the old Peso at a rate of 1 Escudo = 1,000 Pesos. It didn’t work. By the time this coin was demonetized on 29 September 1975, the Escudo itself had been replaced by the new Peso — at a rate of 1 Peso = 1,000 Escudos. A coin worth one centesimo had become, in purchasing power terms, essentially nothing. The condor outlasted the currency.

The coin is struck in aluminium — a deliberate choice for a low denomination, keeping production costs below face value. At 3 grams and 29 mm across, it’s a surprisingly large, light coin: you notice the weightlessness when you pick it up, the way you might notice a feather. Appropriate, perhaps, for a coin bearing a bird that weighs up to 15 kilograms yet flies as if gravity is optional.

Own this coin and you hold a small aluminium record of one of South America’s most turbulent economic decades — and one of its most enduring symbols.

A Note on Coin Grading

We grade coins by condition — how much wear a coin shows from use. Below is the scale we use, from unworn to well-circulated.

Condition Grades

• Uncirculated (BU) — Bank-fresh: Full mint detail, no wear. May show light nicks or bag marks from contact with other coins. Never circulated.
• About Uncirculated (AU) — A whisper of wear: Still shiny with nearly full luster; only the very highest points show the faintest rub. Looks new at a glance.
• Extremely Fine (XF) — Lightly circulated: Sharp detail throughout, light wear on the high points, with traces of original shine in protected areas.
• Very Fine (VF) — Honestly circulated: Moderate, even wear. Every detail still fully visible, but the high points are smoothed and the original luster is gone.
• Fine & below — Well-worn: Clearly circulated with major detail visible but softened. Honest, everyday-grade coins.

A Note on Shine

Separately from wear, we may note a coin as Bright or Toned. Many circulated coins — including ones pulled straight from pocket change — are still bright and eye-catching, while others have naturally dulled or darkened, particularly the brass or "gold" portion of bimetallic coins. This is independent of grade: a lightly circulated coin can be bright, and an unworn coin can be toned.

Please note: Grades are assigned by visual inspection and reflect our best honest assessment. Individual coins are representative of their grade tier and may vary slightly. Natural toning and minor contact marks develop over a coin's lifetime, are normal, and are not considered defects.