Chile 1/2, 1, 2, 5, and 10 Centesimos 1960 to 1971

Wow. What neat coins! That's a condor, not an eagle or other 'standard' bird on the front of the coin. Can't you envision it soaring high over the Chilean Andes?

These are beautiful coins, but they are not worth very much. The metal is aluminum or aluminum bronze, not silver or gold, so the coin is worth face value unless it is special in some way (more below). If your coin looks like the one in the photo, with virtually no wear, a collector might pay a few US dollars to add it to his or her collection. This applies to all denominations: 1/2, 1, 2, 5, and 10 centesimos.

1/2 CENTESIMO: aluminum, 25 mm diameter
1 CENTESIMO: aluminum, 28 mm
2 CENTESIMOS: aluminum-bronze, 20 mm
5 CENTESIMOS: aluminum-bronze, 23 mm
10 CENTESIMOS: aluminum-bronze, 27 mm

ALL DENOMINATIONS, EXCEPT AS NOTED BELOW
worn: less than $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: less than $1
well preserved: $1
fully uncirculated: $4

Some 2, 5, and 10 centesimo coins dated before 1963 were minted in very low numbers. They catalog as follows:

5 CENTESIMOS DATED 1961 OR 1962, AND 10 CENTESIMOS DATED 1960:
worn: $2 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $3
well preserved: $5
fully uncirculated: $12

2 CENTESIMOS AND 5 CENTESIMOS DATED 1960
worn: $5 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $10
well preserved: $25
fully uncirculated: $70

If you have a 2 or 5 centesimos coin from Chile dated 1960, then congratulations! These were never intended for circulation. Mint officials held off a while before they minted the coin in quantity, but they did mint some coins in 1960 to present as fake evidence to convince politicians that the coins were in fact being minted as scheduled. Some of these coins still survive in collections today.
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