5 Centavos

Peru's shift to copper-nickel for this denomination came as silver shortages during and after World War I forced many Latin American nations to abandon precious-metal minor coinage. The Lima Mint, one of the oldest continuously operating mints in the Americas, produced this type across a span that bracketed the Great Depression — a period during which Peruvian fiscal policy lurched between the gold standard and forced paper currency under President Leguía's collapsing Oncenio regime.

Later dates in the run, particularly through the 1930s, saw dramatically reduced mintages as nickel itself became a strategically monitored material.