Argentine peso

The Argentine peso (originally established as Argentine new peso, or convertible peso), (ISO 4217: ARS) is the currency of Argentina. The symbol used locally for it is "$" (the US dollar is written "U$S" or "US$"). It is divided into 100 centavos.

History of the Argentine currency system

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Argentine peso was one of the most traded currencies in the world. However, throughout the century, the economy collapsed several times, and the country experienced severe periods of hyperinflation which led to several changes in the system:

• Peso Moneda Nacional , 1881–1969, m$n
• Peso Ley, 1970–1983, $Ley, which replaced the previous currency at a rate 1 $Ley = 100 m$n
• Peso Argentino, 1983–1985, $a, which replaced the previous currency at a rate 1 $a = 10,000 $Ley
• Austral 1985–1991, A, which replaced the previous currency at a rate, 1 A = 1,000 $a
• Nuevo Peso (Peso Convertible), 1991–present, $, which replaced the previous currency at a rate of 1$ = 10,000 A

Current peso notes

Banknotes exist in the denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos. Coins worth $1, 0.50, 0.25, 0.10, 0.05 and 0.01 also circulate.

Conmemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Eva Perón, on September 18, 2002 a new coin with her face, worth $2, was created. It was said that this coin would replace the old $2 banknote if inflation occurred in the Argentine economy.

Current ARS exchange rates

AUD | CAD | EUR | GBP | INR | NZD | USD

External links

• Current official Peso exchange rates (third column)