Peruvian nuevo sol: Encyclopedia II - Peruvian nuevo sol - Nuevo Sol

Peruvian nuevo sol - Nuevo Sol

The nuevo sol ("new sol") 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, which in turn was derived from the old sol, derived from Latin Solidus, but misinterpreted as the homophonous word for Sun.

• 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 = approximately 3.25 nuevos soles
• 1 euro = approximately 3.94 nuevos soles

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.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Nuevo Sol", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki