Argentine peso facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Argentine peso
ISO 4217 Code	ARS
User(s)	Argentina
Inflation	271.5% in June 2024
Source	Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
Coins
Freq. used	1, 2, 5, 10 pesos
Rarely used	1, 5, 10, 25, 50 centavos, bimetallic 1 and 2 pesos (no longer minted, still valid)
Banknotes
Freq. used	10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 10,000 pesos

The peso is the money used in Argentina since 1992. People in Argentina use the symbol $ before the amount, just like in many countries that use pesos or dollars. One peso is divided into 100 centavos.

However, because prices have been rising very fast (this is called inflation), smaller coins are not used much anymore. Also, many banknotes like 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 pesos are not printed anymore, but you can still use them. The special code for the Argentine peso is ARS. It replaced the austral currency, where 1 peso was equal to 10,000 australes.

Argentina's money has faced big problems with inflation, sometimes even hyperinflation (when prices rise extremely fast). This has happened since the mid-1900s. Because of this, the country has often changed its currency or removed zeros from its money. The peso introduced in 1992 was called the peso convertible. It was worth a huge amount compared to the old money from 1970. Since the early 2000s, the peso has continued to lose value. In April 2024, prices were almost 290% higher than the year before. This was the highest inflation since the current peso started in 1991.

When the peso convertible was first introduced in 1992, it was worth the same as one United States dollar. This lasted until 2002. After that, its value changed a lot. In 2003, 3 pesos were worth one US dollar, but by early 2023, it took 178 pesos to get one US dollar. On August 14, 2023, the official rate was set at 350 pesos for one US dollar. But in unofficial markets (sometimes called the "blue dollar"), it was 665 pesos for one US dollar.

In December 2023, after Javier Milei became president, the economy minister Luis Caputo changed the official exchange rate. It went from 366.5 pesos to 800 pesos for one US dollar. This meant the peso lost about 54% of its value. The plan was for the peso to lose another 2% of its value each month. At that time, the unofficial rate was around 1000 pesos per dollar.

History

Before 1992, amounts in older pesos sometimes had a "$" sign. But often, especially in official documents, they used special symbols to show which specific peso was being used. For example, "m$n100" meant 100 pesos moneda nacional. The peso that started in 1992 is just called peso and only uses the "$" sign.

Older pesos often replaced other currencies that were also called peso. Sometimes, two different types of pesos were used at the same time. This made it important to have special names for them. But the 1992 peso replaced a currency with a different name, the austral.

Peso before 1826

The peso was a common name for the silver Spanish eight-real coin. After Argentina became independent, it started making its own coins. These coins were called reales, soles, and escudos. The silver eight-real coins were still known as pesos.

These coins were used in Argentina until 1881.

Peso fuerte, 1826–1881

A 200 pesos fuertes banknote from 1869.

In 1826, Argentina started printing two types of paper money called pesos. One was the peso fuerte (meaning "strong peso"). This money could be exchanged for gold. 17 pesos fuertes were worth one Spanish ounce of gold. This peso was replaced in 1881 by the peso moneda nacional.

Peso moneda corriente, 1826–1881

A "Cinco pesos" moneda corriente banknote from 1869.

The peso moneda corriente (meaning "everyday currency") was also introduced in 1826. It started with the same value as the peso fuerte, but it lost value over time.

Argentina did not use a decimal system for its money until 1881. Before that, 100 centavos were equal to 1 peso. The peso moneda nacional replaced the older currencies in 1881. One peso moneda nacional was equal to 25 peso moneda corriente. At first, the one peso moneda nacional coin was made of silver. But because of an economic crisis in 1890, no more silver coins were made.

Peso moneda nacional, 1881–1970

A 5 cents moneda nacional banknote from 1891, showing Nicolás Avellaneda.

The peso moneda corriente was replaced in 1881 by the paper peso moneda nacional (meaning "national currency"). This new currency was used from 1881 until January 1, 1970. Its design was updated in 1899 and again in 1942.

At first, the peso moneda nacional could be exchanged for gold. This exchangeability was kept on and off, but the peso's value in gold kept decreasing. It was finally stopped in 1929.

Peso ley, 1970–1983

The peso ley 18.188 replaced the previous currency. One peso ley was equal to 100 pesos moneda nacional.

Peso argentino, 1983–1985

The peso argentino replaced the previous currency. One peso argentino was equal to 10,000 pesos ley. This new currency started on June 1, 1983, just before Argentina became a democracy again. However, it quickly lost its value and was changed several times. It was replaced by a new currency called the austral in June 1985.

Austral, 1985–1991

The austral replaced the peso argentino. One austral was equal to 1,000 pesos. During the time the austral was used, Argentina suffered from hyperinflation. This meant prices increased incredibly fast. For example, in July 1989, prices went up by 200% in just one month. This led to the government printing emergency banknotes with very high values. The value of the currency became stable two years after Carlos Menem became president.

Peso convertible, since 1992

In 1992, a new peso was introduced. It was called peso convertible because its value was set to be equal to 1 U.S. dollar. For every peso convertible in circulation, the Central Bank had one US dollar in its reserves. This new peso replaced the austral at a rate of 1 peso = 10,000 australes. After all the currency changes and removing zeros, one peso convertible from 1992 was worth 10 trillion (10,000,000,000,000) pesos moneda nacional from 1970.

After the financial crisis of 2001, the fixed exchange rate system was stopped in January 2002. The peso's value then changed freely. It reached a point where four pesos were worth one dollar (meaning the peso lost 75% of its value). This change helped Argentina's exports grow a lot, bringing many dollars into the economy and helping to lower the dollar's price. For a while, the government tried to keep the exchange rate between 2.90 and 3.10 pesos per US dollar. This was to help exports and encourage local industries.

In December 2015, rules about exchanging US dollars were removed after Mauricio Macri became president. This made the difference between the official rate and the unofficial "blue" rate almost disappear for a while.

The official exchange rate on April 1, 2016, was 14.4 pesos to 1 US dollar. The rate kept getting worse. By July 29, 2022, one US dollar was 131.22 pesos officially, but 298 pesos in unofficial markets. By September 2023, the official rate was 350 pesos to the dollar, and over 720 pesos in unofficial markets.

On December 12, 2023, after Javier Milei was elected president, the economy minister Luis Caputo changed the official exchange rate to 800 pesos to the US dollar. This was a big drop in value (54%). The plan was to continue this drop by 2% each month. At that time, the unofficial rate was around 1000 pesos per dollar.

Coins

In 1992, new coins were made for 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos. A 1 peso coin followed in 1994. Two-peso coins were introduced in 2010. The 1-centavo coins were last made in 2001. In 2017, a new set of coins came out for 1 and 5 pesos, and then 2 and 10 pesos in 2018.

Even though the Central Bank says these coins are still valid, stores and banks often don't accept them. This is because they are worth so little and are inconvenient to handle.

Commemorative coins

Special 2 and 5-peso nickel coins were made in 1994 to celebrate the National Constitutional Convention.

Two-peso coins were also made in 1999 to honor the writer Jorge Luis Borges. They showed Borges on one side and a labyrinth and the Hebrew letter aleph on the other. On September 18, 2002, a 2-peso coin with Eva Perón's face was introduced to remember 50 years since her death. This coin was meant to replace the 2-peso banknote if inflation stayed high. However, none of the 2-peso coins are widely used.

Other 50-centavo and 1-peso coins celebrate different events. These include the 50th anniversary of UNICEF (1996), when women gained the right to vote (1997), the start of Mercosur (1998), and the death of José de San Martín (2001).

Several 1 peso coins were released in 2010 to celebrate 200 years since the May Revolution. They all had the same front side, but different images of famous places on the back. These places included Mar del Plata, the Perito Moreno Glacier, Mount Aconcagua, the Pucará de Tilcara, and El Palmar.

Banknotes of the peso convertible (1992–present)

First series (Convertibles series, 1992)

In 1992, the first series of peso convertible banknotes were introduced. They came in values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos. The 1-peso note was replaced by a coin in 1994. Until 2001, these banknotes had the words "Convertibles de curso legal" on them. This meant their value was fixed to the same amount in US dollars. Most of these older bills have been replaced, so it's rare to find ones marked as convertible, except for the $100 notes. All these bills are 155 × 65 mm in size.

Second series (Nuevo diseño (New design) series, 1997)

These banknotes have been used since 1997. They are still valid along with newer series. After 2002, the words 'legal tender convertible' were removed from the banknotes.

The 2-peso banknotes were stopped on April 30, 2018, and replaced by coins. The 5-peso banknotes were stopped on February 29, 2020.

Third series (Tenemos Patria (We have a country) series, 2013)

These banknotes have been used since 2013, along with the second, fourth, and fifth series.

Each banknote in this series has a special title. For example, the 5 pesos note is called 'San Martín. The Dream of the Great Homeland'. On April 4, 2016, it was announced that the 100-peso banknotes with María Eva Duarte de Perón would continue to be printed. They also added a new security feature for people who are visually impaired.

5-peso notes were removed from circulation on February 29, 2020.

Fourth series (Native Fauna of Argentina series, 2016)

In 2016, Argentina's Central Bank released a new series of banknotes. This included new 200- and 500-peso notes. New 20- and 1,000-peso notes came out in 2017, and new 50- and 100-peso notes in 2018. A new series of coins for $1, $2, $5, and $10 was also released starting in 2018.

5,000-peso design concept

A design for a 5,000-peso banknote was shown in May 2020, but it was never made. However, this design was later used for the 2,000-peso note released in February 2023.

Fifth Series (Heroínas y héroes de nuestra historia – "Heroines and heroes of our history" – series, 2023- )

In May 2022, the Central Bank announced a new series of banknotes for 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 pesos. These new notes would feature Argentine historical figures and events instead of animals. The first new note, a 2,000-peso note, was released on May 22, 2023. It shows the Instituto Malbrán and two important doctors, Cecilia Grierson and Ramón Carrillo. This note uses the design originally planned for the 5,000-peso note.

On January 11, 2024, the Central Bank announced that 10,000-peso and 20,000-peso notes would be released by June 2024. The design for the 500-peso note will be used for the 10,000-peso note instead.

In early 2024, the most common banknotes were 1,000, 2,000, and 10,000 pesos. Because of very high inflation, smaller notes like 10, 20, and 50 pesos are almost never seen. Even 100, 200, and 500-peso banknotes are rarely used.

Current notes:

Exchange rates

At the end of 2011, Argentina put in place rules to control how much money could leave the country. This helped reduce money leaving by 85%. But it also led to different exchange rates and an unofficial market (called the "blue dollar"). People and companies used this market to exchange money.

Sometimes, special official exchange rates are created to help certain parts of the economy. For example, there was a "soybean dollar" which was a special rate for exporting soybeans. This rate was used at different times in 2022 and 2023. A "corn dollar" also existed for corn exports in 2023.

On November 4, 2022, a "foreign tourist dollar" rate was introduced. This rate was similar to the black market rate. It was for purchases made with foreign payment cards. The idea was to encourage tourists to visit Argentina and discourage them from using the unofficial currency market. In January 2023, tourists spent almost five times more dollars than in January 2022, thanks to this new rate.

See Also

In Spanish: Peso (moneda de Argentina) para niños

• Casa de Moneda de la República Argentina – Argentine mint
• Economy of Argentina
• Historical exchange rates of Argentine currency

Images for kids

• 

  200 pesos fuertes banknote issued in 1869

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  "Cinco pesos" moneda corriente banknote, issued 1869

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  5 cents moneda nacional banknote featuring Nicolás Avellaneda, 1891