The Peruvian sol has been the currency of Peru since 2015. One sol is divided into 100 céntimos. The ISO code is PEN. From 1991 to 2015, the currency was called Nuevo Sol. The sol was introduced on July 1, 1991 as Nuevo Sol to replace the highly inflationary Inti. It was exchanged at the rate of 1 Nuevo Sol = 1,000,000 Inti.
In 1863, Peru chose the name Sol, meaning “sun” (symbol of the country since Inca times), as its monetary unit in the decimal system: 1 Sol (= 10 Dineros) = 100 Centavos and 10 Soles = 1 Libra. Until 1917, the 1 sol piece was equivalent in weight (25 g) and fineness (900/1000) to the 5 franc piece of the Latin Mint Union.
Due to high inflation, Peru switched to the inti (meaning “sun” in the Inca language Quechua) of 100 céntimos (1000 soles de oro = 1 inti) in 1985 and then to the nuevo sol (1,000,000 intis = 1 nuevo sol) in July 1991.
Coins were introduced on October 1, 1991, and banknotes on November 13. Compared to the old Inti banknotes, the new bills were equipped with several security features such as special paper, watermark and metal thread. On December 15, 2015, they were renamed Sol.