Country guide
Chile
From the 1817 volcano peso — the first coin of independent Chile — through the cóndor gold of the gold-standard era to the modern peso: Chile’s coinage is compact, historic, and full of low-mintage keys.
4
Coin entries
Coins of Chile
Every coin entry in this wiki — one tap to the full page.
Showing 4 of 4
History & collecting
The story behind the coins, one tap away.
- The Casa de Moneda de Chile traces its origin to a royal charter (Real Cédula) of King Philip V of Spain, October 1, 1743, authorizing a mint in Santiago.
- Chile’s first national coinage was struck in 1817 — the “volcano peso” — ordered after the Battle of Chacabuco (February 12, 1817) to replace royal iconography with republican symbols.
- A full decimal coinage was introduced 1851–1853 (copper centavos; silver décimos, 20/50 centavos, 1 peso; gold 5 and 10 pesos).
- Gold standard: a new gold coinage was introduced in 1895 “reflecting the lower gold standard”; the 1926 monetary law defined 10 pesos as “one condor” and required coins of 10 pesos and up to state their condor equivalent.
- The first peso circulated 1817–1960; it was replaced by the escudo on January 1, 1960 (Law 13,305) at 1 escudo = 1,000 pesos.
- The peso returned in 1975 (Decree Law 1,123) at 1 peso = 1,000 escudos. The Banco Central de Chile was founded in 1925.
- Volcano pesos (1817–1834): 27 g of .902 silver — the first republican crowns.
- 1 peso “cóndor” silver (1867–1891): 25 g of .900 silver with the condor over the shield.
- Gold: the one-year 10 pesos of 1895 (.917 gold) and the 100 pesos “diez condores” (1926–1980) — Chile’s great gold bullion coin.
- The 1817 no-assayer volcano peso (KM82.1) — reportedly struck for only about one month.
- Low-mintage volcano dates: 1825 (3,400) and 1830 (6,868).
- The 1887 1 peso cóndor (23,000 struck).
- The 1968 100 pesos proof (1,815 struck) — the numismatic key of the gold series.
Real prices come from real sales. Check what Chile coins are actually selling for right now.
Live eBay listingsWatch @CapsCoinsCollector checklistsThe Weekend Coin DealerMatching checklists & toolsAs an eBay Partner, The Coin Wiki may earn from qualifying purchases.