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GETTING STARTED MITCH SANDERS Money of Latin America

Though some coins feature familiar images and themes, many others are unique reflections of the nations that issued them.

are accustomed to a modicum of in- NE OF MY favorite flation, but time quotations is a has taken a much rhetorical quip by greater toll on Rudyard Kipling: money in Latin “What should they know America. In re- of England, who only cent decades, to England know?” Kipling’s be a “millionaire” point is that knowledge of there usually has other countries not only has its been a sure sign own rewards, but also provides insight of macroeconomic into the familiar traits of one’s own dislocation rather Liberty’s profile is featured home. In that spirit, here’s a look at than personal on the obverse of this 1977 some comparisons and contrasts be- wealth. For exam- Brazilian 10 centavos, while tween the money of the United States ple, Argentina’s the stylized reverse depicts and Latin America. million-peso bank smokestacks, alluding to the Common origins. Spanish Colonial note was worth country’s industrialization. coins circulated extensively in the less than $20 in Actual Size: 23mm United States before and after our coun- the early 1980s. try’s independence, and the U.S. dollar, As the value of like various monetary units of Latin money erodes, currencies might be Miguel Hidalgo and José Morelos, America, was based on the Spanish- abandoned entirely: the Mexican “new Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar and Cuba’s American silver 8 reales. The Mexican peso” of 1993 was worth 1,000 “old pe- José Martí. Other subjects memorial- version initially was most successful, as sos,” and Brazil had six different cur- ized on money include Eva Perón and enormous quantities of silver “Cap and rency units from 1986 to 1994. Today, women’s suffrage in Argentina, Mex- Rays” 8 reales were produced for world- fortunately, inflation has largely been ico’s pre-Columbian heritage and wide trade in the 19th century. These tamed in Latin America. Brazilian industrialization. monetary linkages also are evident sym- Local History. The designs on a na- Liberty. Latin American coins often bolically: the American dollar and the tion’s money represent a sense of feature familiar images of Liberty. She Mexican peso, along with many other its history. Latin American countries wears a liberty cap on many Argentine North and South American currencies, frequently have honored independ- and Brazilian coins, sports winged head- share the abbreviated “$.” ence-era leaders, including Mexico’s gear on a few Colombian issues, and Diverging development. Americans appears in seated and standing poses on Peruvian coins. Sometimes, the alle- gorical Liberty also has specific political meaning. Liberty reappeared on Ar- gentina’s coinage in 1983 during a transition from dictatorship to democ- racy, and a 1976 Chilean coin showed V

A joyous Liberty breaks the chains of oppression on the obverse of a Chilean 1980 10 pesos. Actual Size: 29mm

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GETTING STARTED continued

1 American 2- and “Panama pill” (a 2 ⁄2 centesimos half 20-cent pieces the diameter of a penny, issued were coined only in 1904) to Brazil’s massive 4,000 reis briefly, but equiv- of 1900, one of the few coins that alents are com- is substantially larger than a silver mon throughout dollar. Interesting shapes include Latin America. Mexico’s seven-sided 10 pesos and Unusual combi- Paraguay’s scalloped coins of 1953. nations of deci- Although nations often prefer the mal and binary products that come from their own arithmetic also mines (like Mexican silver and Chilean are more com- copper), they sometimes resort to The reverse of this 25 pesos mon, such as cheaper metals, such as aluminum and 1 commemorates the 1968 the ⁄4 centavo stainless steel. Unlike the United 1 Olympics, held in Mexico City. (Venezuela), 1 ⁄4 States, most Latin American nations Actual Size: 40mm centavos (Colom- use bimetallic coins. 1 bia), 2 ⁄2 centavos Comparing the money of the United (Ecuador), 4 cen- States and Latin America is an 1 her breaking chains of oppression— tesimos (Uruguay), 12 ⁄2 centimos interesting numismatic exercise. ironically, to celebrate the anniversary (Venezuela) and 40 centavos (Chile). For an informative perspective on of a military coup. Interestingly, the unusual American U.S. money, or as a new and interest- Denominations. Latin American 3-cent piece has a companion in El ing collecting area in its own right, coinage systems resemble those found Salvador’s 3 centavos. it’s worth exploring the money of in the United States, but there Specifications. Latin American Latin America. are some unfamiliar variations. The coins range in size from the squat [email protected] ANA ONLINE

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