The centavo (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

'one hundredth') is a fractional monetary unit that represents one hundredth of a basic monetary unit in many countries around the world. The term comes from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''centum'', ('one hundred'), with the added suffix ''-avo'' ('portion').

Circulating

Places that currently use the centavo include: *

Argentine peso The peso (established as the ''peso convertible'') is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using peso or dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 ''centavos''. Its ISO 4 ...

Bolivian boliviano The boliviano (; sign: BsBanco Central de Bolivia. "Galeria de monedas y billetes''." Accessed 26 February 2011.Banco Central de BoliviaOfficial websiteAccessed 26 February 2011. ISO 4217 code: BOB) is the currency of Bolivia. It is divided ...

Brazilian real The Brazilian real (plural, pl. '; currency symbol, sign: R$; ISO 4217, code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real repl ...

* Cape Verdean escudo * Colombian peso *

Cuban peso The Cuban peso (in Spanish , ISO 4217 code: CUP) also known as , is the official currency of Cuba. The Cuban peso historically circulated at par with the Spanish-American silver dollar from the 16th to 19th centuries, and then at par with the U ...

* Dominican peso *

East Timor centavo coins East Timor centavo coins were introduced in East Timor in 2003 for use alongside United States dollar banknotes and coins, which were introduced in 2000 to replace the Indonesian rupiah following the commencement of U.N. administration. One cent ...

Ecuadorian centavo coins Ecuadorian centavo coins were introduced in 2000 when Ecuador converted its currency from the sucre to the U.S. dollar. The coins are in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos and are identical in size and value to their U.S. cent counte ...

Guatemalan quetzal The quetzal (; code: GTQ) is the currency of Guatemala, named after the national bird of Guatemala, the resplendent quetzal. In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal bird's tail feathers were used as currency. It is divided into 100 ''centavos,'' ...

Honduran lempira The lempira (, sign: L, ISO 4217 code: HNL;) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. Etymology The lempira was named after the 16th-century ''cacique'' Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renow ...

* Mexican peso *

Mozambican metical The metical (; plural: ) is the currency of Mozambique, abbreviated with the symbol ''MZN'' or ''MT''. It is nominally divided into 100 centavos. The name ''metical'' comes from Arabic (''mithqāl''), a unit of weight and an alternative name for ...

* Nicaraguan córdoba *

Philippine peso The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ce ...

(''In English usage; ''séntimo'' or céntimo is used in Tagalog and

respectively.'') File:50 Centavos (Philippines).jpg, 50 Philippine centavos (1964) of the ''English series''. File:10 Philippine centavos (2).jpg, 10 Philippine centavos (1945), from the Commonwealth period. File:1-centavo-real-2003.png, 1 Brazilian centavo (2003), no longer produced. File:2002phil01centobv.jpg, 1 Philippine Centavo (2002), no longer produced.

Obsolete

Former forms of the centavo that are no longer in use include: *

Brazilian cruzeiro Brazilian cruzeiro refers to any of four distinct Brazilian currencies: * Brazilian cruzeiro (1942–1967), worth 1,000 Brazilian réis * Brazilian cruzeiro (1967–1986), denominated ''cruzeiro novo'' between 1967 and 1970 in the transition from ...

(from 1942 to 1986 and from 1990 to 1993) *

Brazilian cruzado The cruzado was the currency of Brazil from 1986 to 1989. It replaced the second cruzeiro (at first called the "cruzeiro novo") in 1986, at a rate of 1 cruzado = 1000 cruzeiros (novos) and was replaced in 1989 by the cruzado novo at a rate of ...

(from 1986 to 1989) * Brazilian cruzado novo (from 1989 to 1990) *

Costa Rican colón The colón (plural: ''colones''; sign: ₡; code: CRC) is the currency of Costa Rica. It was named after Christopher Columbus, known as ''Cristóbal Colón'' in Spanish. A colón is divided into one hundred céntimos. Symbol The symbol for ...

(Between 1917 and 1920 only. As

céntimo The céntimo (in Spanish-speaking countries) or cêntimo (in Portuguese-speaking countries) was a currency unit of Spain, Portugal and their former colonies. The word derived from the Latin meaning "hundredth part". The main Spanish currency ...

for other periods.) *

Ecuadorian sucre The Sucre () was the currency of Ecuador between 1884 and 2000. Its ISO code was ECS and it was subdivided into 10 ''decimos'' and 100 '' centavos''. The sucre was named after Latin American political leader Antonio José de Sucre. The currency ...

(New centavo coins continued to circulate after the sucre was replaced by

U.S. dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

in 2000.) *

Salvadoran colón The colón was the currency of El Salvador from 1892 until 2001, when it was replaced by the U.S. dollar during the presidency of Francisco Flores. The colón was subdivided into 100 centavos and its ISO 4217 code was SVC. The plural is "''co ...

Guinea Bissau peso The peso was the currency of Guinea-Bissau from 1975 to 1997 and was divided into 100 centavos. It replaced the escudo at par. In 1997, in an effort to stop high inflation, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc, using a conversion rate of 65 pesos t ...

Mozambican escudo The escudo was the currency of Mozambique from 1914 until 1980. It was subdivided into 100 ''centavos''. History The escudo replaced the real at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 réis. It was equal in value to the Portuguese escudo until 1977. Initial ...

Portuguese escudo The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from May 22nd 1911 until the introduction of the euro on January 1st 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 . The word derives from the scutum shield. Amounts in escudos were written as w ...

(before the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

was introduced) * Portuguese Guinean escudo *

Portuguese Indian escudo The escudo was the currency of Portuguese India between 1958 and 1961. It was subdivided into 100 '' centavos'' and was equal in value to the Portuguese escudo. After Portuguese India was annexed by the Republic of India in 1961, the escudo w ...

* Puerto Rican peso *

São Tomé and Príncipe escudo The escudo was the currency of São Tomé and Príncipe between 1914 and 1977. It was equivalent to the Portuguese escudo and subdivided into 100 centavos. History The escudo replaced the real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real ...

Venezuelan venezolano The venezolano was the currency of Venezuela between 1872 and 1879. It was divided into 100 '' centavos'', although the names ''céntimo'' and ''centésimo'' were also used. Venezolano was also the name of two currencies planned in 1 ...

Venezuelan peso The peso (local name ''peso fuerte'') was a currency of Venezuela until 1874. History Until 1821, the Spanish colonial real circulated in Venezuela. Some of these coins were minted at the Caracas Royal Mint (Spanish: ''Real Casa de Moneda de Car ...

* Chilean Cent (from 1975 to 1983, as a subdivision of the Chilean peso)

Circulating

Obsolete

See also