1 Centavo

Ecuador had already abandoned the sucre for the US dollar in 2000, making these centavo coins a fractional denomination of a foreign currency the country had formally adopted as its own. The decision, made under President Jamil Mahuad during a catastrophic banking collapse and 60% currency devaluation, remains one of the most drastic unilateral dollarizations in Latin American history. Small-denomination centavos saw limited practical use almost immediately — dollar-economy pricing quickly rendered the 1-centavo piece functionally obsolete in daily transactions.