Peruvian sol

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The sol (plural: "soles") (S/.) is the monetary unit (currency) of Peru.

Sol

The first sol was introduced in 1863 when Peru decimalized. It was equivalent to eight reales and was subdivided into 100 centavos. It was replaced in 1985 by the inti at a rate of one thousand to one. It had the ISO 4217 currency code PEH.

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Nuevo Sol

The nuevo sol ("new sun") was introduced in 1991 to replace the highly inflated inti. The ISO 4217 currency code is PEN (the inti was PEI).

The name derives from historical use and divination of the sun (sol, in Spanish) as a symbol of power, also as a (not-so-)subtle way of connecting the new currency (nuevo sol) to the old inti currency, which was named after Inti, the Sun God of the Incas.

1 nuevo sol = 100 céntimos

Coins in circulation: 1 (see note), 5, 10, 20, and 50 céntimos; 1, 2, and 5 nuevos soles.

Notes in circulation: 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 nuevos soles.

Exchange rates as of July 2005:

1 U.S. dollar = approx. 3.25 nuevos soles; i nuevo sol = approx. 30.8 US cents
1 euro = approx. 3.94 nuevos soles; i nuevo sol = approx. 25.4 euro-cents

NOTE: While legally still in circulation, the 1 céntimo coin is hardly used anymore. The BCRP (Central Reserve Bank) has stopped minting of these coins and final costs in establishments are rounded down to the previous 5 céntimos since most do not hold 1 céntimo coins (in some, this is even rounded down to the previous 10 céntimos). This is largely because most cash registers have enough compartments to hold six or seven different coin denominations, so the smallest are discarded.

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