Argentine peso
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The Argentine peso (originally established as the nuevo peso argentino or peso convertible) is the currency of Argentina. Its ISO 4217 code is ARS, and the symbol used locally for it is $ (to avoid confusion, Argentines frequently use U$S to indicate U.S. dollars). It is divided into 100 centavos.
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History
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Argentine peso was one of the most traded currencies in the world. However, throughout the century, the economy collapsed several times, and the country experienced periods of inflation and hyperinflation that led to changes in the system.
Peso, 1854-1881
Until 1881, there was no national currency in Argentina. However, in 1854, the Argentine Confederation issued 1, 2 and 4 centavos coins, with 100 centavos = 1 peso = 8 reales.
Peso Moneda Nacional, 1881-1969
The peso moneda nacional (m$n) replaced the real at the rate of 8 reales = 1 peso.
Peso Ley, 1970-1983
The peso ley 18.188 (called simply the peso ley), replaced the previous currency at a rate of one peso ley to 100 pesos moneda nacional.
Peso Argentino, 1983-1985
The peso argentino ($a), replaced the previous currency at a rate of one to ten thousand.
Austral, 1985-1991
The austral (the symbol was an uppercase A with an extra horizontal line), replaced the peso argentino at a rate of one austral for one thousand pesos.
Peso "Convertible", 1991-
The peso replaced the austral at a rate of one to ten thousand. It was also referred to as peso convertible since the international exchange rate was fixed by the Central Bank at one US dollar to one peso, and for every peso convertible circulating, there was a US dollar in the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves. However, after the economic debacle of 2001, the fixed exchange rate system was abandoned.
The end result was that one peso would be worth 10,000,000,000,000 (10¹³) pesos moneda nacional today.
Since January 2002, the exchange rate fluctuated, up to a peak of four pesos to one dollar (that is, a 75% devaluation). The exports boom then produced a massive inflow of dollars into the Argentine economy, which helped lower their price. On the other hand, the current administration has publicly acknowledged a strategy of keeping the exchange rate between 2.90 to 3.00 pesos per U.S. dollar, in order to maintain the competitiveness of exports and encourage import substitution by local industries. When necessary, the Central Bank emits pesos and buys dollars in the free market (sometimes large amounts, in the order of 10 to 100 million USD per day) to keep the dollar price from dropping, and has amassed over 26,000 million USD in reserves (November 2005).
Note that the highest valued peso note is the AR$100, worth only about US$35. Prices in Argentina are lower than those in the United States in terms of purchasing power parity, so there is little need for higher valued notes.
Circulating Currency
Coins
Coins worth one peso and 50, 25, 10 and 5 centavos circulate. 1 centavo coins have been withdrawn from circulation.
Commemorating the National Constitution Convention, two-peso and five-peso nickel coins were emitted in 1994.
Some two-peso coins were emitted in 1999 to commemorate the centennial of the birth of world-famous writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges; they had an image of Borges' face on one side, and a labyrinth and the Hebrew letter aleph on the other. In addition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Eva Perón, on September 18, 2002 a new two-peso coin with her face was created. It was said that this coin would replace the old $2 banknote if inflation continued to be high. None of the two-peso coins are currently in wide circulation.
Banknotes
Peso banknotes exist in the denominations of 1 (discontinued and replaced by the 1 peso coin), 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos.
| Denomination | Portrait | Main colour | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ 1 | Carlos Pellegrini (not currently in use, replaced by the 1 peso coin) | Navy blue | Image:1peso banknote.jpg |
| $ 2 | Bartolomé Mitre | Light Blue | Image:2pesos.jpg |
| $ 5 | José de San Martín | Green | Image:5pesos.jpg |
| $ 10 | Manuel Belgrano | Brown | Image:10pesos.jpg |
| $ 20 | Juan Manuel de Rosas | Red | Image:20pesos.jpg |
| $ 50 | Domingo Faustino Sarmiento | Black | Image:50pesos.jpg |
| $ 100 | Julio Argentino Roca | Violet | Image:100pesos.jpg |
Current ARS exchange rates
AUD | CAD | EUR | GBP | INR | NZD | USD
External links
- Current official peso exchange rates (third column)
- La Moneda Website - Actual and Historic Pictures
| Historical Currencies of Argentina | |
|---|---|
| Peso moneda nacional 1881-1969 | Peso ley 1970-1983 | Peso argentino 1983-1985 | Austral 1985-1991 | Peso 1992-present
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| Currencies of The Americas | |
|---|---|
| North | Bermuda dollar | Canadian dollar | Danish krone (Greenland) | Euro (Saint-Pierre et Miquelon) | Mexican peso | US dollar |
| Central | Belize dollar | Costa Rican colón | Guatemalan quetzal | Honduran lempira | Nicaraguan córdoba | Panamanian balboa | US dollar (El Salvador) |
| Caribbean | Aruban florin | Bahamian dollar | Barbados dollar | Cayman Islands dollar | Cuban peso | Cuban convertible peso | Dominican peso | East Caribbean dollar | Euro (Guadeloupe, Martinique) | Haitian gourde | Jamaican dollar | Netherlands Antillean gulden | Trinidad and Tobago dollar | US dollar (British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) |
| South | Argentine peso | Bolivian boliviano | Brazilian real | Chilean peso | Colombian peso | Euro (French Guiana) | Falkland Islands pound | Guyanese dollar | Paraguayan guaraní | Peruvian nuevo sol | Suriname dollar | US dollar (Ecuador) | Uruguayan peso | Venezuelan bolívar
</table> |
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