The date on this coin is a year older than its working life: the 5 centavos dated 1987 reached Nicaraguan pockets only on 14 February 1988, the day the country swapped old córdobas for new ones at 1,000 to 1.

The obverse shows the hat of Augusto Sandino, the general’s unmistakable broad-brimmed hat; the Sandinistas who governed in the 1980s took their name from him. Around it runs «REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA», with sprigs by the date. On the reverse the value sits between two mottos: «EN DIOS CONFIAMOS» (In God we trust) and «PATRIA LIBRE O MORIR» (A free homeland or death).

The 1987 series was prepared for the old córdoba but released as small change for the new one. This little aluminium piece had a mintage of 38 million, yet hyperinflation soon ate its value too, and in the early 1990s the córdoba oro took over.

Grade F-VF: the coin circulated, wear is clearly visible on the high points, but the hat, the mottos and the date remain legible. It is a genuine survivor of a short and turbulent chapter of Nicaraguan money.

More coins from this country and this era are waiting in the VPcoins catalogue.