Finance:Peruvian sol

Short description: Currency of Peru

Peruvian sol

Sol Peruano (Spanish)
ISO 4217
Code	PEN (numeric: 604) before: PEH, PEI, PES
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Plural	soles
Symbol	S/‎
Denominations
Subunit
​1⁄100	céntimo
Plural
céntimo	céntimos
Banknotes
Freq. used	S/10, S/20, S/50, S/100
Rarely used	S/200
Coins
Freq. used	10, 20, 50 céntimos, S/1, S/2, S/5
Rarely used	1, 5 céntimos (discontinued, still legal tender)
Demographics
Date of introduction	July 1, 1991
Replaced	Peruvian inti
User(s)	Peru
Issuance
Central bank	Central Reserve Bank of Peru
Website	www.bcrp.gob.pe
Printer	Perum Peruri
Website	www.peruri.co.id
Mint	National Mint (Casa Nacional de Moneda)
Valuation
Inflation	2%
Source	January 2014

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"), but on November 13, 2015, the Peruvian 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. Coins denominated in the new unit were introduced on October 1, 1991, and the first banknotes on November 13, 1991. Since that time, the sol has retained an inflation rate of 1.5%, the lowest ever in either South America or Latin America as a whole. 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 United States dollar .

As of November 2023, the exchange rate is 3.73 soles per 1 US dollar.

In May 2023, the Peruvian Sol was positioned as the most stable currency in Latin America, that is, daily fluctuations in the exchange rate - up and down - are less intense than its peers in the region, according to the calculation of historical volatility for the last 6 months from the Bloomberg agency.

From November 2018 to the same month of 2023, the Sol was devalued against the US dollar by only 41 Sol cents.

The strength of the Peruvian currency is explained by a surplus in its trade balance of almost $15 billion from October 2022 to October 2023; level of International Reserves approximately $75 billion, equivalent to 28% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), among the highest for emerging economies.

Coins

The current coins were introduced in 1991 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 céntimos and S/1. The S/2 and S/5 coins were added in 1994. Although one- and five-céntimo coins are officially in circulation, they are very rarely used. For this reason the aluminium one-céntimo coin, introduced in December 2005, was removed from circulation on May 1, 2011. Also, five-céntimos coin was removed from circulation on January 1, 2019.

For cash transactions, retailers must round down to the nearest ten céntimos or up to the nearest five. Electronic transactions will still be processed in the exact amount. An aluminium five-céntimo coin was introduced in 2007. 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.

Image	Value	Diameter (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Mass (g)	Composition	Edge
	10 céntimos	20.5	1.26	3.50	Brass	Smooth
	20 céntimos	23	1.26	4.40	Brass	Smooth
	50 céntimos	22	1.65	5.45	Cu–Zn–Ni	Reeded
	S/1	25.5	1.65	7.32	Cu–Zn–Ni	Reeded
	S/2	22.2	2.07	5.62	Bimetallic Outside ring: Steel Centre: Cu–Zn–Ni	Smooth
	S/5	24.3	2.13	6.67	Bimetallic Outside ring: Steel Centre: Cu–Zn–Ni	Reeded (since 2009)

Banknotes

Banknotes for S/10, S/20, S/50, and S/100 were introduced in 1990. 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 is released in December 2023.

Denomination	In circulation since	Colour		Person depicted on obverse	Reverse	Image (obverse)
S/10	1991		Green	José Quiñones Gonzales North American NA-50 “Torito”	A Caproni Ca.113, flying upside-down
	2011		Green	José Quiñones Gonzales	Machu Picchu
	2014		Green	José Quiñones Gonzales	Machu Picchu	[1]
	2021		Green	María Isabel Granda y Larco	Vicuña; Ismene amancaes
S/20	1991		Brown	Raúl Porras Barrenechea	Interior of Torre Tagle Palace, seat of Peru's Ministry of Foreign Relations
	2011		Brown	Raúl Porras Barrenechea	Huaca del Dragón, incorrectly named as Chan Chan	[2]
	2022		Brown	José María Arguedas Altamirano	Andean condor and Cantua buxifolia
S/50	1991		Orange	Abraham Valdelomar	Oasis of Huacachina, Ica
	2011		Orange	Abraham Valdelomar	New temple of Chavin de Huantar (Huaraz)	[3]
	2022		Pink	María Rostworowski Tovar	Jaguar and Puya raimondii
S/100	1992		Blue	Jorge Basadre	National Library of Peru
	2011		Blue	Jorge Basadre	Great Pajaten	[4]
	2021		Blue	Pedro Paulet	Marvelous spatuletail; Phragmipedium kovachii
S/200	1995		Pink	Rose of Lima	Convent of Santo Domingo, Lima
	2011		Gray	Rose of Lima	Sacred City of Caral-Supe	[5]
	2023		Purple	Tilsa Tsuchiya	Rupicola peruvianus, the Peruvian national bird, and Dalechampia aristolochiifolia

See also

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

External links

• Banknotes and Coins from the Central Bank of Peru
• Historical banknotes of Peru (in English and German)
• Currency in Peru (in English and Spanish)