Colombian peso
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ISO 4217 Code | COP |
| User(s) | Colombia |
| Inflation | 5% |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2005 est. |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | centavo |
| Symbol | $ or Col$ (inf.) |
| Coins | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 pesos |
| Banknotes | 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 pesos |
| Central bank | Banco de la República |
| Website | www.banrep.gov.co |
The peso is the currency of the Republic of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is COP and it is also informally abbreviated as COL$. The peso symbol is $.
Contents |
[edit] History
The peso has been the currency of Colombia since 1837. It was introduced at a value of 8 reales. In 1847, Colombia decimalized and the peso was subdivided into ten reales, renamed decimos in 1853. The current system of 100 centavos to the peso was introduced in 1872.
From 1888, printing press inflation caused Colombia's paper money (issued by the National Bank and denominated in peso moneda corriente) to fall in value relative to the coinage. In 1904, the Treasury took over the issuance of paper money. The exchange rate was fixed at 100 peso moneda corriente = 1 coinage peso in 1907 and between then and 1914, coins were issued denominated in "peso p/m", equal to paper pesos. In 1910, the Junta de Conversion began issuing paper money and, in 1915, a new paper currency was introduced, the peso oro.This was equal to the coinage peso and replaced the old peso notes at a rate of 100 old paper pesos = 1 peso oro. Although it never appeared on coins, Colombia's paper money continued to be issued denominated in peso oro until 1993 when the word oro was dropped.
[edit] Coins
Image:COP 20.JPG The coins that are currently used are<ref name="COPCoins">Billetes y monedas (In spanish) Accessed 18 August 2006</ref>:
- $10 (in some parts of the country to give change)
- $20
- $50
- $100
- $200
- $500
- $1000
Since November 1996, a $1000 coin has been in circulation and as of April 2005 it is still legally valid for transactions as it has not been officially withdrawn by the authorities.
However, due to massive counterfeiting, Colombians have increasingly avoided the use of this denomination, the possibility of its withdrawal has been considered, and in practice its circulation has significantly decreased since 2002.
The problem of false $1000 coins has been considered widespread enough that, according to some observers, the bogus coins could have outnumbered the legitimate ones. It was reported in the Colombian press throughout 2004 that, at a date yet to be determined, a new type of $1000 coin may be minted as a replacement in order to correct these problems. Even so, it's very rare to see $1000 coins circulating, and are generally rejected by most commercial establishments.
[edit] Banknotes
Image:Gaitan.jpg The available banknote denominations are:
- $1000 (Jorge Eliécer Gaitán)
- $2000 (Francisco de Paula Santander)
- $5000 (José Asunción Silva)
- $10,000 (Policarpa Salavarrieta)
- $20,000 (Julio Garavito Armero)
- $50,000 (Jorge Isaacs)
As noted above, the $1000 note was withdrawn from circulation to be replaced by a coin; however, it was subsequently reintroduced, with a new design, due to the coin counterfeiting problem. As of 2005 there was a widespread problem with counterfeit $2000 notes. Real notes have brown colored lettering; while low quality fakes tend to have red lettering.
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[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Bills and Coins
| Pesos | |
|---|---|
| Current | Argentine peso | Chilean peso | Colombian peso | Cuban peso | Cuban convertible peso | Dominican peso | Mexican peso | Philippine peso | Uruguayan peso |
| Defunct | Argentine peso moneda nacional | Argentine peso ley | Argentine peso argentino | Bolivian peso | Costa Rican peso | Ecuadorian peso | El Salvadoran peso | Guatemalan peso | Guinea Bissau peso | Honduran peso | Nicaraguan peso | Paraguayan peso | Puerto Rican peso | Spanish peso | Venezuelan peso |
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