5 Australes

The austral was introduced in 1985 as Argentina's attempt to stabilize an economy hemorrhaging under triple-digit inflation. It failed. By 1989 — the year this coin was struck — annual inflation had reached approximately 3,000%, rendering aluminum coinage essentially symbolic. The government of Raúl Alfonsín collapsed mid-year, and he handed power to Carlos Menem six months ahead of schedule, the first such early presidential transfer in Argentine democratic history.

The entire austral series was abandoned by 1991 when the peso convertible replaced it at a rate of 10,000 australes to one peso.