5 Centavos

These two years mark the opening phase of the War of the Pacific, in which Peru found itself at war with Chile beginning in April 1879. The conflict ultimately ended with Chilean occupation of Lima in 1881 and the near-total collapse of the Peruvian state, making any domestically produced coinage from this precise window historically loaded. Minor copper-nickel denominations were the last to be abandoned as the monetary system deteriorated.