Posted 10 years ago
aghcollect
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This is a commemorative coin for the first flight of the British Aerospace (BAe146) airliner in Paraguay by the airline Lineas Aereas Paraguayas.
The flight occurred in February of 1993 as LAP placed three aircraft into service. On one side of the coin it reads "VUELO INAGURAL DEL BAe 146 EN PARAGUAY" with the LAP logo in the center and "LINEAS AEREAS PARAGUAYAS FEB 1993" below it. On the reverse it reads "Inaugural Commercial Flight of The BAe 146 in PARAGUAY" with the head-on profile of the 146 with the landing gear partly retracted and the British Aerospace logo below. The coin is cast of aluminum and weighs 1 ounce. It is 1 9/16" (4 cms) in diameter and 3/16" (2 mms) thick. and comes in its own simulated alligator (plastic) case. - Mint condition
** Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas was a creation of the Paraguayan Military Aviation in 1962. Services included flights to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Sao Paulo and Curitiba from the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion. In 1993, a BAe 146-300 operated in LAP on loan from the factory. Since LAP was a government losing company, attempts to privatize were not fruitful and the money losing operation was shut down in 1994. - The airline was resold to the Brazilian TAM Group in 1996 and the Paraguayan subsidiary was renamed as TAM Airlines (Paraguay) which continues in service.