Some facts about Argentine peso
The Argentine peso is the currency of Argentina. The sign for Argentine peso is $ (to avoid confusion¸ Argentines commonly use U$D¸ US$¸ U$¸ U$S¸ or U$A for indicating U.S. dollars) while the ISO 4217 code for it is ARS.
The Argentine peso is subdivided into 100 centavos. The currency has always made its way struggling through frequent crises that had struck the economy of Argentina time and again. The currency saw the toughest times when Argentina’s trade partner countries Mexico and Brazil were also struck by severe economic crisis. This even led to discontinuation of its peg to the US dollar and it got floated. When nothing helped¸ the depreciation went as low as about 80% of its value.
However¸ at one point of time¸ it has been one of the highly traded currencies.
Currency of Argentina - Argentine peso Coin Types
In Argentina¸ the monetary unit is 1 peso = 100 centavos. The Reserve Bank of Argentina¸ Banco Central de la República Argentina issues the currency notes and the coins that are circulated in the country. The coins are issued for denominations that are smaller - 5¸ 10¸ 25 and 50 centavos¸ 1 peso¸ 2 and 5 pesos. The coins from 5 centavo up till 50-centavo bear the numerical denomination of the value of the coin as well as the year in which the currency was minted on the reverse side of the coin.
In the 1 peso coin¸ there is a core and a separate ring while in the reverse side there is the imprint of a 32 rayed sun with an inscription PROVINCIAS DEL RÍO DE LA PLATA meaning River Plate provinces; the 2 and 5 peso coins look almost the same with the inscriptions EN UNIÓN Y LIBERTAD meaning in union and liberty and REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA meaning Argentine Republic in common on the reverse sides. Here is a list of the different engraved images on different coins:
- 5-centavo coin - 32 rayed national sun
- 10 centavos coin - national coat of arms
- 25 centavos coin - Buenos Aires city hall
- 50 centavos coin - the House of Tucumán.
- 1 peso coin - replica of the first national coin depicting national coat of arms
- 2 pesos coin - national coat of arms
- 5 pesos coin - national coat of arms
The 1-centavo coin is not used in the coinage system anymore and its circulation has been discontinued.
Currency of Argentina - Argentine peso Banknotes Types
The banknotes that are issued in Argentine Peso are 2¸ 5¸ 10¸ 20¸ 50 and 100 pesos. They are however of the same size and are made of cotton paper. The color codes as well as different images pertaining to important people of the country differentiate them. In Argentine peso¸ the color code pattern is as follows:
- 2 pesos note - Light blue
- 5 pesos note - Green
- 10 pesos note - Brown
- 20 pesos note - Red
- 50 pesos note - Black
- 100 pesos note - Violet
1 peso note has been replaced by the 1 peso coin.
The problem of change
The problem of change is however very grave in Argentina as smaller denomination currency and particularly coins are hard to get. The problem is all the more pertaining in the areas in around Buenos Aires. Sometimes¸ ship owners deny selling items if the transaction involves giving the purchaser change. Also the bus companies will accept only coins in payment. The problem is exacerbated by ATMs as they give out $100 notes almost every time.
Currency Exchange Rate to other World Famous Currencies like US¸ UK etc
As of February 17th¸ 2011¸ the currency exchange rates of Argentine peso to the currencies of US and UK are:
1.00 USD=4.02700 ARS
1.00 GBP=6.48978 ARS
However¸ the values are floating¸ and the exchange rates always tend to change according to the money market trends.
Official website details of Currency of Argentine peso:
You can check the official website for Argentine peso at http://www.bcra.gov.ar for more detailed information on the currency.
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