At its introduction in 1991, the currency was officially callednuevo sol ("new sol"), until November 13, 2015, whenPeru's Congress voted to rename the currency simplysol.[4][5]
Currencies in use before the current Peruvian sol include:
TheSpanish colonial real from the 16th to 19th centuries, with 8 reales equal to 1 peso.
ThePeruvian real from 1822 to 1863. Initially worth1⁄8 peso,reales worth1⁄10 peso were introduced in 1858 in their transition to a decimal currency system.
Thesol orsol de oro from 1863 to 1985, at 1 sol = 10 reales.
Theinti from 1985 to 1991, at 1 inti = 1,000soles de oro.
Due to the bad state of economy andhyperinflation in the late 1980s, the government was forced to abandon the inti and introduce the sol as the country's new currency.[6] The new currency was put into use on July 1, 1991, by Law No. 25,295, to replace the inti at a rate of 1 sol to 1,000,000 intis, or oneinti millón.[7] Coins denominated in the new unit were introduced on October 1, 1991, and the first banknotes on November 13, 1991. Since that time,[when?] the sol has retained an inflation rate of 1.5%, the lowest ever in either South America or Latin America as a whole.[8][failed verification] Since the new currency was put into effect, it has managed to maintain an exchange rate[9] between S/2.2 and S/4.13 perUS dollar.
Coins were introduced in 1991 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50céntimos and S/1.[7] Coins for S/2 and S/5 were added in 1994. The one- and five-céntimo coins fell out of use and the one-céntimo was removed from circulation on May 1, 2011 followed by the five-céntimos on January 1, 2019.[10] (For cash transactions retailers must round down to the nearest tencéntimos or up to the nearest five. Electronic transactions continue to be processed at the exact amount.)
All coins show thecoat of arms of Peru surrounded by the textBanco Central de Reserva del Perú ("Central Reserve Bank of Peru") on the obverse; the reverse of each coin shows its denomination. Included in the designs of thebimetallic S/2 and S/5 coins are the hummingbird and condor figures from theNazca Lines.[11]
Banknotes for S/10, S/20, S/50, and S/100 were introduced in 1991.[7] The banknote for S/200 was introduced in August 1995.[12] All notes are of the same size (140 x 65 mm) and contain the portrait of a well-known historic Peruvian on the obverse.[13]
A new series of banknotes was issued starting in 2021, beginning with the S/10 and S/100 notes in July 2021[14][15] and followed by the S/20 and S/50 notes in July 2022.[16] A S/200 note was released in December 2023.[17]