Everything about Dominican Peso totally explained
==Dominican Peso==
The
peso oro is the currency of the
Dominican Republic. Its
symbol is "
$", with "RD$" used when distinction from other
pesos (or
dollars) is required; its
ISO 4217 code is "DOP". Each peso is divided into 100
centavos, for which the ¢ symbol is used. It is the only currency which is
legal tender for all monetary transactions, whether public or private, in the Dominican Republic.
History
For an earlier currency used in what is now the Dominican Republic, see Santo Domingo real.
The first Dominican peso was introduced in 1844. It replaced the
Haitian gourde at par and was divided into 8
reales. The Dominican Republic decimalized in 1877, subdividing the peso into 100 centavos. A second currency, the
franco, was issued between 1891 and 1897 but didn't replace the peso. However, in 1905, the peso was replaced by the
U.S. dollar, at a rate of 5 pesos to the dollar. The
peso oro was introduced in 1937 at par with the U.S. dollar, although the dollar continued to be used alongside the peso oro until 1947.
Coins
First peso, 1844–1905
Only one denomination of coin was issued by the Dominican Republic before decimalization. This was the ¼ real, issued in 1844 in bronze and in both 1844 and 1848 in brass. Decimalization in 1877 brought about the introduction of three new coins, the 1, 2½ and 5 centavos. 1¼ centavo coins were also issued between 1882 and 1888. After the franco was abandoned, silver coins were introduced in 1897 in denominations of 10 and 20 centavos, ½ and 1 peso. The designs of these coins were very similar to those of the franco.
Peso Oro, from 1937
Coins were introduced in 1937 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 centavos and ½ pesos with small numbers of 1 peso coins first minted in 1939. The full name of the currency has never appeared on coins, only "peso". Base metal replaced silver in the higher denominations in 1967. Since 1991, coins of denominations of 5, 10 and 25 pesos have been introduced. However, due to
chronic inflation, coins below 1 peso are now rarely found.
Banknotes
First peso, 1844–1905
Paper money made up the bulk of circulating currency for the first peso. Provisional issues of 40 and 80 pesos were produced in 1848, followed by regular government notes for 1, 2 and 5 pesos in 1849, and 10 and 50 pesos notes in 1858. The
Comision de Hacienda issued 50 and 200 pesos in 1865, whilst the
Junta de Credito introduced notes for 10 and 20 centavos that year, followed by 5 and 40 centavos in 1866 and 1, 2, 5 and 10 pesos in 1867. In 1862, the Spanish issued notes for ½, 2, 5, 15 and 25 pesos in the name of the
Intendencia de Santo Domingo. The last government notes were 1 peso notes issued in 1870.
Two private banks issued paper money. The
Banco Nacional de Santo Domingo issued notes between 1869 and 1889 in denominations of 25 and 50 centavos, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25 and 100 pesos. The
Banco de la Compañia de Crédito de Puerto Plata issued notes from the 1880s until 1899 in denominations of 25 and 50 centavos, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 pesos. Note that the Banco Nacional de Santo Domingo also issued notes in 1912 denominated in dollars (called pesos in the Spanish text).
Peso Oro, from 1947
When the peso oro was introduced in 1937, no paper money was made and US notes continued to circulate. Only in 1947 were the first peso oro notes issued by the Central Bank in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 pesos oros. In 1961, low value notes were issued in denominations of 10, 25 and 50 centavos. 2000 pesos oros notes were introduced in 2000.
Banknotes currently in circulation are 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 pesos oros. Limited-editions of the 500 and 2000 pesos oros notes were issued for the 1992 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas and year 2000 millennial celebrations, respectively, but
as of 2005 not many of these remain in circulation. On the
13 October 2007 a new denomination of 200 pesos was unveiled to be put into circulation in the coming days
Relation with the U.S. dollar
The
United States dollar is used as a
reserve currency by the
Dominican Central Bank. Also, when convened by both parties, both U.S. dollars and the euro can be used in private transactions (this applies mostly in tourism-related activities). This was most true during the drastic inflational period of 2003–2004.
Historical exchange rates
Historically, since the first monetary emission in 1948, the peso was worth about the same as a
United States dollar.
During the 1980’s and 1990’s the exchange rate for U.S. dollar vs. Dominican peso was as follows:
- 1984 $US 1 to RD$ 3.45
- 1993 $US 1 to RD$ 14.00
- 1998 $US 1 to RD$ 16.00
- 2002 $US 1 to RD$ 20.00
- 2006 $US 1 to RD$ 32.00
In
2003 the peso dramatically plummeted; a single US dollar was worth almost RD$57.00.
Since
2004 the peso has reached a more manageable rate of 29–34 pesos to 1 U.S. dollar. As of December 2005, there were some 39 pesos to the
euro, or around 33 to the U.S. dollar.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dominican Peso'.
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