1 Nuevo Sol 150 Years of Sol Monetary Unit

Peru's sol monetary unit dates to 1863, when the government replaced the old real system with a decimalized currency tied loosely to the French Latin Monetary Union standards then spreading through South America. The 2013 issue marks that sesquicentennial. What makes the timing pointed is that Peru had actually abandoned the "sol" name twice — first replacing it with the inti in 1985 amid catastrophic inflation under the García administration, then restoring it as the "nuevo sol" in 1991 as part of Fujimori's stabilization program. The coin is therefore commemorating a name that spent nearly a decade in official retirement.