Ecuador's sucre had been losing ground to inflation throughout the 1980s, and by the time this denomination was introduced, 20 sucres represented a fraction of what a single sucre had bought a decade earlier. The switch to nickel clad steel from more expensive alloys was a direct response to the coin's shrinking purchasing power — metal costs were threatening to exceed face value.
The sucre itself would not survive the following decade. Ecuador dollarized completely in 2000, retiring the entire currency after a catastrophic banking crisis wiped out much of the country's savings.
Ecuador's sucre had been losing ground to inflation throughout the 1980s, and by the time this denomination was introduced, 20 sucres represented a fraction of what a single sucre had bought a decade earlier. The switch to nickel clad steel from more expensive alloys was a direct response to the coin's shrinking purchasing power — metal costs were threatening to exceed face value.
The sucre itself would not survive the following decade. Ecuador dollarized completely in 2000, retiring the entire currency after a catastrophic banking crisis wiped out much of the country's savings.