Peruvian sol

For the Peruvian currency used from 1863 to 1985, see Peruvian sol (1863–1985).

Peruvian sol

Sol Peruano (Spanish)
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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	1.9%
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"), 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, 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 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.

Image	Value	Diameter (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Mass (g)	Composition	Edge
	10 céntimos	20.5	1.26	3.50	Brass	Smooth
	20 céntimos	23		4.40
	50 céntimos	22	1.65	5.45	Cu–Zn–Ni	Reeded
	S/1	25.5		7.32
	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		Reeded (since 2009)

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.

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			José Quiñones Gonzales	Machu Picchu
	2014					[1]
	2021			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				Huaca del Dragón, incorrectly named as Chan Chan	[2]
	2022			José María Arguedas Altamirano	Andean condor and Cantua buxifolia
S/50	1991		Orange	Abraham Valdelomar	Oasis of Huacachina, Ica
	2011				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				Great Pajaten	[4]
	2021			Pedro Paulet	Marvelous spatuletail; Phragmipedium kovachii
S/200	1995		Pink	Rose of Lima	Convent of Santo Domingo, Lima
	2011		Gray		Sacred City of Caral-Supe	[5]
	2023		Purple	Tilsa Tsuchiya	Rupicola peruvianus, the Peruvian national bird, and Dalechampia aristolochiifolia

Current PEN exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD BRL EUR JPY
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD BRL EUR JPY
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD BRL EUR JPY
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD BRL EUR JPY

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