The real was the currency of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

until 1881. From 1822, it was subdivided into 10 ''décimos''. The sol was also issued during this period and was equal to the real, whilst the

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...

was worth 8 reales and the

escudo The escudo ( Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency which is used in Cape Verde, and which has been used by Portugal, Spain and their colonies. The original coin was worth 16 silver . The Cape Verdean escudo is, and the Portuguese escudo ...

was worth 16 reales.

History

Spanish colonial real The silver real () was the currency of the Spanish colonies in America and the Philippines. In the seventeenth century the silver real was established at two billon reales (''reales de vellón'') or sixty-eight '' maravedíes''. Gold '' escu ...

es circulated alone until 1813, when Argentina began issuing its own coins. From 1820, paper money was also issued. In 1826, the peso moneda corriente and peso fuerte were introduced in paper money only. In 1854, coins were issued denominated in centavos. However,

decimalization Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

did not occur until in 1881, when the real was replaced by the

peso moneda nacional The (symbol: m$n), or simply peso, was the first unified national currency of Argentina. It was used from 5 November 1881 to 1 January 1970, the date in which the ''peso ley 18.188'' was issued to the Argentine public. It was subdivided into 1 ...

at a rate of 8 reales to 1 peso.

Coins

Silver coins were issued in the name of the "Río de la Plata Province" in denominations of , 1, 2, 4 and 8 reales and , 1, 2, 4 and 8 soles, whilst gold coins (87.5%) were issued in denomination of 1, 2, 4 and 8 escudos. The state of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

issued its own coins starting in 1822, denominated in reales and ''décimos'', with 10 décimos = 1 real. Coins were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 20 décimos, together with , (actually shown as ), 1 and 2 reales. They were all minted of copper. Other provinces issued coins denominated in reales (silver) and escudos (gold):

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

, Entre Ríos,

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, Mendoza,

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...

and Tucumán. Since these coins were scarce, it was common to use silver coins from other countries (especially

Bolivian sol The sol was the currency of Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, ...

es). In 1854, coins were issued in the name of the "

Argentine Confederation The Argentine Confederation (Spanish: ''Confederación Argentina'') was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the nam ...

" in denominations of 1, 2 and 4 centavo coins. As notes above, this issue did not lead to full decimalization.

Banknotes

In 1820, the Government of the Province of

introduced notes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 40, 50 and 100 pesos. These were followed in 1823 by 1, 3 and 5 pesos. The ''Banco de Buenos Ayres'' began issuing notes in 1822 in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 pesos. 1 and 2 peso notes followed in 1823.

General references

* * {{Portal bar, Argentina, Money, Numismatics Currencies of Argentina Modern obsolete currencies Sun on coins