Home of the oldest mint in South America (Lima, 1565) — Peru’s coinage runs from colonial 8 reales through the gold libra and the silver sol to the modern nuevo sol, with a 1985–1991 hyperinflation chapter in between.
Currency history
- The Lima mint opened August 21, 1565, with coining from September 1568 — the oldest mint in South America.
- The sol was introduced in 1863 as part of the decimal monetary reform replacing the Spanish real.
- Gold standard 1901–1932: the libra at 10 soles = 1 libra.
- The inti was introduced February 1, 1985 (1 inti = 1,000 soles de oro), named for Inti, the Quechua sun god.
- The nuevo sol arrived July 1, 1991 (1 nuevo sol = 1,000,000 intis) and was renamed simply "sol" effective December 15, 2015.
Key series
- Colonial 8 reales: the pillar type at Lima 1751–1772, then the portrait/bust type from 1772.
- Gold libra (1898–1930): 7.9881 g, .917 fine — the exact British sovereign standard — with 1/2 and 1/5 fractions.
- 1 sol silver, seated Liberty (1864–1916): 25 g of .900 silver with "FIRME Y FELIZ POR LA UNIÓN".
- 50 soles gold: the Inca-head type (33.44 g, 1930–31 & 1967–69) and the seated-Liberty "soles oro" type (23.41 g, 1950–1969).
What collectors hunt
- The 1913 Philadelphia-mint libra — check mint marks; genuine pieces weigh 7.9881 g at 22 mm.
- The 1968 and 1969 50 soles oro (443 each) — the lowest mintages of the 1950–69 gold series.
- High-grade 1 sol silver — 25 g at 37 mm with a reeded edge.
- Lima pillar dollars with LIMAE mintmarks — the 1772 type-change is the key attribution break.
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