Peruvian sol

The sol (Spanish pronunciation: [sol]; plural: soles; currency sign: S/) is the currency of Peru; it is subdivided into 100 céntimos ("cents"). The ISO 4217 currency code is PEN.

The sol replaced the Peruvian inti in 1991 and the name is a return to that of Peru's historic currency, as the previous incarnation of sol was in use from 1863 to 1985. Although sol in this usage is derived from the Latin solidus (lit.'solid'), the word also means "sun" in Spanish. There is thus a continuity with the old Peruvian inti, which was named after Inti, the Sun God of the Incas.

At its introduction in 1991, the currency was officially called nuevo sol ("new sol"), until November 13, 2015, when Peru's Congress voted to rename the currency simply sol.

History

Currencies in use before the current Peruvian sol include:

• The Spanish colonial real from the 16th to 19th centuries, with 8 reales equal to 1 peso.
• The Peruvian real from 1822 to 1863. Initially worth 1⁄8 peso, reales worth 1⁄10 peso were introduced in 1858 in their transition to a decimal currency system.
• The sol or sol de oro from 1863 to 1985, at 1 sol = 10 reales.
• The inti from 1985 to 1991, at 1 inti = 1,000 soles de oro.

Due to the bad state of economy and hyperinflation in the late 1980s, the government was forced to abandon the inti and introduce the sol as the country's new currency. The new currency was put into use on July 1, 1991, by Law No. 25,295, to replace the inti at a rate of 1 sol to 1,000,000 intis, or one inti millón. All inti coins and banknotes with a face value below 10,000 intis were demonetized. Coins denominated in the new unit were introduced on October 1, 1991, and the first banknotes on November 13, 1991. The remaining banknotes denominated in intis ceased to be legal tender after 1992. Since that time,[when?] the sol has retained an inflation rate of 1.5%, the lowest ever in either South America or Latin America as a whole.[failed verification] Since the new currency was put into effect, it has managed to maintain an exchange rate between S/2.2 and S/4.13 per US dollar.

Coins

Coins were introduced in 1991 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 céntimos and S/1. Coins for S/2 and S/5 were added in 1994. The one- and five-céntimo coins fell out of use and the one-céntimo was removed from circulation on May 1, 2011, followed by the five-céntimos on January 1, 2019. (For cash transactions retailers must round down to the nearest ten céntimos or up to the nearest five. Electronic transactions continue to be processed at the exact amount.)

All coins show the coat of arms of Peru surrounded by the text Banco Central de Reserva del Perú ("Central Reserve Bank of Peru") on the obverse; the reverse of each coin shows its denomination. Included in the designs of the bimetallic S/2 and S/5 coins are the hummingbird and condor figures from the Nazca Lines.

Banknotes

Banknotes for S/10, S/20, S/50, and S/100 were introduced in 1991. The banknote for S/200 was introduced in August 1995. All notes are of the same size (140 x 65 mm) and contain the portrait of a well-known historic Peruvian on the obverse.

A new series of banknotes was issued starting in 2021, beginning with the S/10 and S/100 notes in July 2021 and followed by the S/20 and S/50 notes in July 2022. A S/200 note was released in December 2023.

During the currency's 30 year past, several series of banknotes were introduced:

The first one being the first Nuevos Sol series first introduced in November 1991 with the 10 and 20 Nuevos Soles banknotes in parallel with coins while higher denonimation banknotes were introduced gradually (50 Nuevos Soles on 22 April 1992, 100 Nuevos Soles on 22 July 1992 and finally 200 Nuevos Soles on 29 August 1997):

The printers of the banknotes were written on the reverse of the banknotes on the left down corner. These would be eventually removed from the next series.

From the late 2000s a new series of redesigned notes was introduced. The portraits of the banknotes were kept from the previous series but the reverses were changed by adding diverse buildings. These banknotes included even more improved security features compared to its predecessor. Throughout the circulation of the series, the name of the currency was also changed from Nuevos Sol to just Sol. The printers of the banknotes were no longer mentioned.

From 2019, a total redesign of the banknotes with totally different portraits was issued from 2021 replacing older banknotes. Some of the notes were printed in 2019 but they were initially released after 2–3 years after printing from time to time starting from the smallest and ending in the highest denonimation.

See also

• Numismatic series Wealth and Pride of Peru
• Numismatic series Natural Resources of Peru
• Economy of Peru
• Peruvian inti

• Bruce, Colin R. II (senior editor) (2006). 2007 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–2000 (34th ed.). Krause Publications. pp. 1463–1465. ISBN 0896893650. {{cite book}}:|author1= has generic name (help)
• Cuhaj, George S., ed. (2005). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Modern Issues 1961-Date (11th ed.). Krause Publications. pp. 659–661. ISBN 0-89689-160-7.

External links

• (in English and German)
• 2024-12-06 at the Wayback Machine (in English and Spanish)