The escudo was either of two distinct Spanish currency denominations.
The escudo was either of two distinct Spanish currency denominations.
The first escudo was a gold coin introduced in 1535/1537, with coins denominated in escudos issued until 1833. It was initially worth 16 reales . When different reales were introduced, the escudo became worth 16 reales de plata in 1642, then 16 reales de plata fuerte or 40 reales de vellón from 1737.
Gold coins were issued in denominations of 1⁄2, 1, 2, 4 and 8 escudos, with the 2 escudos coin known as the doubloon. Between 1809 and 1849, coins denominated as 80, 160 and 320 reales (de vellon) were issued, equivalent, in gold content and value, to the 2, 4 and 8 escudo coins. Most were minted in Madrid, marked with a superscripted M or in Seville bearing an S below and left of the Royal Coat of Arms. The mintmaster's initials appeared on the opposite side.
The second escudo was the currency of Spain between 1864 and 1869. It was subdivided into 100 céntimos de escudo. The escudo replaced the real at a rate of 10 reales = 1 escudo. It was itself replaced by the peseta , at a rate of 2+1⁄2 pesetas = 1 escudo, when Spain joined the Latin Monetary Union. The later silver escudo was worth one quarter of the earlier, gold escudo.
Copper coins were issued in denominations of +1⁄2, 1, 2+1⁄2 and 5 céntimos; silver coins of 10, 20 and 40 céntimos, 1 and 2 escudos; and gold coins of 2, 4 and 10 escudos. The 1 escudo was introduced in 1864, followed by the other silver and gold coins in 1865 and the copper coins in 1866. All the coins were minted until 1868, with 10 escudos also minted in 1873 during the First Republic.
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 peso is the currency of Chile. The current peso has circulated since 1975, with a previous version circulating between 1817 and 1960. Its symbol is defined as a letter S with either one or two vertical bars superimposed prefixing the amount, $ or ; the single-bar symbol, available in most modern text systems, is almost always used. Both of these symbols are used by many currencies, most notably the United States dollar, and may be ambiguous without clarification, such as CLP$ or US$. The ISO 4217 code for the present peso is CLP. It was divided into 100 centavos until 31 May 1996, when the subdivision was formally eliminated. In February 2023, the exchange rate was around CLP$800 to US$1.
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word peso translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol commonly known as dollar sign, "$", 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 piso, often called the peso in English, is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 sentimo, also called centavos.
The sol, later sol de oro, was the currency of Peru between 1863 and 1985. It had the ISO 4217 currency code PES. It was subdivided into 10 dineros or 100 centavos. It also had two different superunits over its circulation life, the inca (1881-1882) and later the gold pound, both worth 10 soles.
The Colombian peso is the currency of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is COP. The official peso symbol is $, with Col$. also being used to distinguish it from other peso- and dollar-denominated currencies.
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 rupia was the currency of Portuguese India sometime after 1668 until 1958. Prior to 1668, the currency unit was Xerafim. In 1666, the Portuguese administration struck a silver coin calling it double xerafin and this was declared equal to a rupia in circulation in India outside of Portuguese possessions. A xerafim was a convertible subunit of rupia, and it was unique to Portuguese colonies in India. One rupia equalled two xerafims.
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 real was the unit of currency of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire from around 1430 until 1911. It replaced the dinheiro at the rate of 1 real = 840 dinheiros and was itself replaced by the escudo at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 réis. The escudo was further replaced by the euro at a rate of 1 euro = 200.482 escudos in 2002.
The real was the official currency of Gibraltar until 1825 and continued to circulate alongside other Spanish and British currencies until 1898.
The real was the currency of Argentina until 1881. From 1822, it was subdivided into 10 décimos. The sol was also issued during this period and was equal to the real, whilst the peso was worth 8 reales and the escudo was worth 16 reales.
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 reals or sixty-eight maravedís. 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 reals 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 real was the currency of Colombia until 1837. No subdivisions of the real existed until after the real had ceased to be the primary unit of currency. However, 8 reales = 1 peso and 16 reales = 1 escudo.
The real was a currency of Mexico, issued until 1897. There were 16 silver reales to 1 gold escudo, with 8 tlacos to the real. The peso, which circulated alongside the real and eventually replaced it, was equal to 8 reales.
The real was the currency of Peru until 1863. Sixteen silver reales equalled one gold escudo. The silver coin of 8 reales was also known as the peso.
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.
