The peso is the monetary unit of several Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word peso translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol commonly known as dollar sign, "$", was originally used as an abbreviation of "pesos" and later adopted by the dollar. The dollar itself actually originated from the peso or Spanish dollar in the late 18th century. The sign "₱" is used in the Philippines.
The silver peso worth eight reales was also known in English as a Spanish dollar or "piece of eight" and was widely used for international trade from the 16th to the 19th century.
The name peso was given to the 8-real silver coin introduced in 1497, minted at 83⁄8 pesos to a Castilian mark (230.0465 grams) of silver 134/144 fine (25.56 g fine silver). It was minted in large quantities after the discovery of silver in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia in the 16th century, and immediately became a coin of worldwide importance in international trade between Europe, Asia and North America.
Initially the peso was produced in Spanish Latin America in a rapid and simplified manner by cutting off a lump of silver of proper weight and fineness from the end of a silver bar, which was then flattened out and impressed by a hammer. This resulted in a crude, irregular coin called a cob in English and macuquina in Spanish. The Crown was entitled to a fifth of all gold and silver mined, the quinto real (royal fifth), and cobs were a convenient means of handling and accounting for silver. In most cases these cobs were immediately melted down by the recipient. However, some remained in circulation as currency; they were ideal candidates for clipping and counterfeiting due to their irregular shape and incomplete design.
Spanish laws of 1728 and 1730 ordered the mechanization of the minting of the peso so that they would be perfectly round and have milled edges. There was a simultaneous reduction in weight and fineness to 8.5 pesos to a mark (27.064 g), 0.9167 fine or 24.809 g fine silver. This new peso became even more popular in international trade, with recipients finding it more advantageous to trade it as coined silver of known value rather than melting it into silver bullion.Later it was reduced even more.
This coin was known to English colonists in North America as a piece of eight, then later on as a Spanish dollar, Spanish milled dollar, and finally as a Mexican dollar. In French, it was called a piastre and in Portuguese, a pataca or patacão. The Spanish names at various times and in various places were real de a ocho, patacón , duro, or fuerte.
A final alteration in 1772 further reduced the fineness of the peso from 11/12 fine to 130/144 = 0.9028 (fine silver 24.443 g). A sample of coins at the end of the 18th century, however, confirm a fineness of only 0.896 (hence, fine silver 24.25 g); see Currency of Spanish America#Coinage of 1786. The weight of the United States dollar was defined in 1788 as 371.25 grains of fine silver (or 24.057 g) based on the average silver content of worn peso coins. The full 0.9028 fineness was restored by Mexico after its independence in 1821.
While the relationship of 8 reales = $1 (or peso duro) continued in the Americas until the 19th century, Spain struggled with the issuance of reales de vellon (made of billon alloy with less than ½ silver) of various weights and finenesses starting in 1600 due to its domestic financial and monetary problems.
In 1642, it first recognized a new, reduced real provincial worth only $0.10 or 10 reales/$ for use only in Spain (with the old real worth $0.125 now called real nacional and retained in Latin America). In 1686 Spain minted a coin worth 8 reales provinciales (or only $0.80, known as the peso maria or peso sencillo) which was poorly received by the people. [1]
An edict made in the same year which valued the peso duro at $1 = 15 and 2/34 reales de vellon proved to be ineffective as the various reales in circulation contained even less silver. The situation was only resolved in 1837 with the peso duro fixed at $1 = 20 reales de vellon, with all prior non-standard reales demonetized.
The loss of Spain's territories in the Americas and the ensuing domestic instability in the 19th century cut off the inflow of precious metals into Spain and resulted in French coinage gradually entering domestic circulation. Two subsequent decimal system reforms were attempted in 1850 (at $1 = 20 reales, each of 10 decimos or 100 centimos) and 1864 (at $1 = 2 silver escudos , each of 100 centimos) but were not fully carried out. The peso and the real were only fully retired with the introduction in 1868 of the Spanish peseta, at par with the French franc, and at the rate of $1 = 20 reales = 5 pesetas = 22.5 g of fine silver.
The successful revolt of the Spanish colonies in America had cut off the supply of silver coin by 1820. By 1825 "...the Spanish dollar, the universal coin of three centuries, had lost its supremacy, and...its universal dominion was in process of disintegration into rival 'currency areas', chief among which was destined to be the area dominated by British sterling." [2]
The Spanish dollar continued to dominate the Eastern trade, and the peso of eight reales continued to be minted in the New World. The coin was sometimes called a Republican dollar, but eventually any peso of the old Spanish eight-real standard was generally referred to as a Mexican dollar, Mexico being the most prolific producer. Mexico restored the standard of 1772, producing a coin of 27.073 g, 0.9028 fine, containing 24.441 g fine silver (the mark weight of the Mexico City mint was very slightly heavier than the standard mark of Spain).
In 1869–1870, not long after adopting the metric system, Mexican mints began producing the peso of “Un Peso” denomination, popularly known as “balanza” (scales), with the same weight and fineness, but with a uniform diameter of 37 mm (making it slightly thicker than the old peso, which was slightly irregular, with a diameter of 38–40 mm). Chinese merchants rejected the new coin, discounting it by 4%–5% in favor of the old eight-real peso. Faced with this threat to her silver exports, Mexico returned to the old eight-real peso by decree of May 29, 1873, but international trade was already shifting from silver to gold, and after 1873 there was a steady decline in the international price of silver.
Until 1873 the Mexican dollar would have been to all intents and purposes equal in value to the silver dollar coins of the United States north of the border, but at that time in history, the Mexican coin would have had a much greater international presence than the U.S. dollar. The great silver devaluation of 1873 caused the Mexican dollar to drop in value against the U.S. dollar, but until the beginning of the 20th century the Mexican dollar would still have been a more widely accepted coin in the Far East than the U.S. dollar. Between the 16th and 19th centuries Mexico produced well over three billion of these coins. Mexico minted the last eight-real peso in 1897, and at the beginning of the twentieth century these Mexican dollar coins were worth only 50 U.S. cents.
The Philippine peso (Filipino: piso) is derived from the Spanish silver coin Real de a Ocho or Spanish dollar, in wide circulation in the entire America and Southeast Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries, through its use in the Spanish colonies and even in the United States and Canada.
Prior to 1852 the Philippines had no currency of its own (with the exception of local copper cuartos) since pesos received from Spain and Spanish Latin America were accepted in circulation. Locally issued pesos only came about with
As with Mexican dollars, the Philippine unit was based on silver, unlike the United States and Canada where a gold standard operated. Thus, following the great silver devaluation of 1873, the Philippine peso devalued in parallel with the Mexican unit, and by the end of the 19th century, was worth half a United States dollar. The name of the currency remained unchanged despite the 1896 Philippine Revolution and the subsequent declaration of independence in 1898.
Country | Currency | ISO 4217 code |
---|---|---|
![]() | Argentine peso | ARS |
![]() | Chilean peso | CLP |
![]() | Colombian peso | COP |
![]() | Cuban peso | CUP |
![]() | Dominican peso | DOP |
![]() | Mexican peso | MXN |
![]() | Philippine peso (piso) | PHP |
![]() | Uruguayan peso | UYU |
Several countries formerly used different currencies also named peso not listed here, with different value, over time. See Argentine peso#History.
Country | Former currency | Final Year | Current currency |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Bolivian peso | 1986 | Bolivian boliviano |
![]() | Costa Rican peso | 1896 | Costa Rican colón |
![]() | Cuban convertible peso | 2020 | — |
![]() | Ecuadorian peso | 1884 | United States dollar |
![]() | Salvadoran peso | 1919 | United States dollar |
Bitcoin | |||
![]() | Equatorial Guinean peso | 1975 | Central African CFA franc |
![]() | Guatemalan peso | 1925 | Guatemalan quetzal |
![]() | Guinea-Bissau peso | 1997 | West African CFA franc |
![]() | Honduran peso | 1931 | Honduran lempira |
![]() | Nicaraguan peso | 1912 | Nicaraguan córdoba |
![]() | Paraguayan peso | 1943 | Paraguayan guaraní |
![]() | Peruvian peso | 1863 | Peruvian sol |
![]() | Puerto Rican peso | 1900 | United States dollar |
![]() | Spanish peso | 1869 | Euro |
![]() | Venezuelan peso | 1874 | Venezuelan bolívar |
Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Eastern Caribbean dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Trinidad and Tobago Dollar and several others. The symbol for most of those currencies is the dollar sign $ in the same way as many countries using peso currencies. The name "dollar" originates from Bohemia and a 29 g silver-coin called the Joachimsthaler.
A thaler or taler is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A thaler size silver coin has a diameter of about 40 mm and a weight of about 25 to 30 grams. The word is shortened from Joachimsthaler, the original thaler coin minted in Joachimsthal, Bohemia, from 1520.
The Mexican peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 16th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$".
The peseta was the currency of Spain between 1868 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra.
The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Filipino name piso, is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 sentimo, also called centavos.
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight, is a silver coin of approximately 38 mm (1.5 in) diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content 25.563 g (0.8219 ozt) fine silver. It was widely used as the first international currency because of its uniformity in standard and milling characteristics. Some countries countermarked the Spanish dollar so it could be used as their local currency.
Philippine peso coins are issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for circulation in the Philippines and are currently available in seven denominations. The Philippine peso has been in use since Spanish rule.
The doubloon was a two-escudo gold coin worth approximately $4 or 32 reales, and weighing 6.766 grams of 22-karat gold . Doubloons were minted in Spain and the viceroyalties of New Spain, Peru, and New Granada. As the Spanish escudo succeeded the heavier gold excelente as the standard Spanish gold coin, the doubloon therefore succeeded the doble excelente or double-ducat denomination.
Trade dollars were silver coins minted as trade coins by various countries to facilitate trade with countries in East Asia, especially China and Japan. They all approximated in weight and fineness to the Spanish dollar, which had set the standard for a de facto common currency for trade in the Far East.
The real was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century. It underwent several changes in value relative to other units throughout its lifetime until it was replaced by the peseta in 1868. The most common denomination for the currency was the silver eight-realSpanish dollar or peso which was used throughout Europe, America and Asia during the height of the Spanish Empire.
The piastre de commerce was the currency of French Indochina between 1885 and 1954. It was subdivided into 100 cents, each of 2~6 sapèques.
The silver real was the currency of the Spanish colonies in America and the Philippines. In the seventeenth century the silver real was established at two billon reales or sixty-eight maravedíes. Gold escudos were also issued. The coins circulated throughout Spain's colonies and beyond, with the eight-real piece, known in English as the Spanish dollar, becoming an international standard and spawning, among other currencies, the United States dollar. A reform in 1737 set the silver real at two and half billon reales or eighty-five maravedís. This coin, called the real de plata fuerte, became the new standard, issued as coins until the early 19th century. The gold escudo was worth 16 reales de plata fuerte.
The escudo was either of two distinct Spanish currency denominations.
The Philippine real was the currency of the Philippines during the Spanish Colonial Era. Brought over in large quantities by the Manila galleons, eight silver reales made up a silver peso or a dollar. 16 silver real were equal to one gold escudo.
This article provides an outline of the currency of Spanish America from Spanish colonization in the 15th century until Spanish American independencies in the 19th. This great realm was divided into the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which came to include all Spanish territory north of Panama, the West Indies, Venezuela, and the Philippines, and the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included Panama and all Spanish territory in South America except Venezuela. The monetary system of Spanish America, originally identical to that of Spain, soon diverged and took on a distinctive character of its own, which it passed on to the independent nations that followed after.
The currency of Venezuela has been in circulation since the end of the 18th century. The present currency unit in Venezuela is the Venezuelan bolívar.
Currency in Colombia denotes the ingots, coins, and banknotes that have been used in Colombia since 1622. It was in that year, under a licence purchased from King Philip III of Spain, that Alonso Turrillo de Yebra established a mint at Santa Fe de Bogotá and a branch mint at Cartagena de las Indias, where gold cobs were produced as part of Colombia's first currency. Silver milled coins date from 1627. In 1831, Gran Colombia dissolved into Venezuela and New Granada. In 1836, in New Granada, new monetary laws were passed, to standardise the money produced in the country. From 1861 to 1862, due to financial instability, the United States of New Granada accepted British currency, the name of the country becoming the United States of Colombia in 1862. In 1880, Colombia pegged the peso to the gold standard due to the falling price of silver. In 1886, the paper peso was introduced. In 1931, Colombia abandoned the gold standard and switched to the current form of the peso.
The ten-sentimo coin (10¢) coin is a denomination of the Philippine peso. It was the oldest denomination under 1 peso in the country's circulation, having been introduced in 1880 during the Spanish rule of the islands until it stopped being minted in 2017. The denomination remains legal tender until the demonetization of the BSP Coin Series.
The history of Philippine money covers currency in use before the Hispanic era with gold Piloncitos and other commodities in circulation, as well as the adoption of the peso during the Hispanic era and afterwards.
The Philippine fifty-centavo coin (50¢) was a denomination of Philippine currency. It was minted for the Philippines from 1864 to 1994 and was demonetized in 1998.