Product Code Database
Uruguayan peso () has been a name of the Uruguayan currency since Uruguay's settlement by Europeans. The present currency, the peso uruguayo (ISO 4217 code: ) was adopted in 1993 and is subdivided into 100 centesimo, although centésimos are not currently in use.
The peso moneda nacional was replaced on 1 July 1975 by the nuevo peso (new peso; ISO 4217 code ) at a rate of 1 new peso for 1000 old pesos. The nuevo peso was also subdivided into 100 centésimos.
After further inflation, the peso uruguayo (ISO 4217 code ) replaced the nuevo peso on March 1, 1993, again at a rate of 1 new for 1000 old.
During the military rule, the peso was on a crawling peg to the dollar. A table of the future value of the dollar was published daily by the government (called the tablita). In 1982, the currency was abruptly devalued ("the tablita was broken"), throwing thousands of companies and individuals into bankruptcy. In the 1990s, a new mechanism to provide predictability was introduced, this time in the form of a sliding range, with top and bottom margins, at which the government would intervene. In 2002, after a banking crisis and amid a huge budget deficit, the currency was again allowed to float, losing almost 50% of its value in a couple of weeks, and, again, throwing into bankruptcy thousands of companies and individuals who held debts denominated in US dollars.
In 2004 a phenomenon completely new to most Uruguayans developed: the currency appreciated in nominal terms against the US dollar, going from 30 to 24 pesos to the dollar. By 2008 the peso reached 19 to the US dollar, recovering more than half of its loss during the crisis. This revaluation hurt exporters and brought protests from the industrial sector, which felt that it lost competitiveness, but by July 2020, the peso had depreciated to over 40 to the dollar. The government hopes that a floating currency will "de-dollarize" the economy. Uruguay does not seem to have found a mechanism that provides the exchange rate some level of predictability, while at the same time allowing the country to adapt its prices so that its exports remain competitive.
| 1 U$ | José Artigas | Un Peso Uruguayo | 3.5 g | 20 mm | 1.5 mm | Aluminium bronze | Smooth | 1994 | |
| Uruguayan coat of arms | Armadillo | Brass plated Steel | 2011 | ||||||
| 2 U$ | José Artigas | Dos Pesos Uruguayos | 4.5 g | 23 mm | 1.6 mm | Aluminium bronze | 1994 | ||
| Uruguayan coat of arms | Capybara | Brass plated Steel | 2011 | ||||||
| 5 U$ | José Artigas | Cinco Pesos Uruguayos | 6.3 g | 26 mm | 1.7 mm | Aluminium bronze | 2003 | ||
| Uruguayan coat of arms | Greater rhea | Brass | 2011 | ||||||
| 10 U$ | José Artigas with the dates of his birth and death | "SEAN LOS ORIENTALES TAN ILUSTRADOS COMO VALIENTES", Signature of José Artigas | 10.4 g | 28 mm | 2.45 mm | Bimetallic: Aluminium bronze center in stainless steel ring | 2000 | ||
| Uruguayan coat of arms | Puma in front of rising sun with 19 rays | Bimetallic | 2011 | ||||||
| 50 U$ | Radiant sun with face, "BICENTENARIO DE LOS HECHOS HISTORICOS" • 1811-2011 • | José Artigas | Copper plated steel | Reeded | 2011 |
In July 2010, 50 centésimos coins were withdrawn from circulation.
New 1, 2, 5, and 10 pesos coins were introduced in January 2011.
| $20 | Juan Zorrilla de San Martín | La leyenda patria | 20 and electrotype 20, Veinte | 2015 | ||
| $50 | José Pedro Varela | Monumento a José Pedro Varela | 50 and electrotype 50, Cincuenta | 2015 | ||
| $100 | Eduardo Fabini | God Pan | 100 and electrotype 100, Cien | 2015 | ||
| $200 | Pedro Figari | "Baile Antiguo" (Old Dance) | 200 and electrotype 200, Doscientos | 2015 | ||
| $500 | Alfredo Vásquez Acevedo | University of the Republic, Montevideo | 500 and electrotype 500, Quinientos | 2014 | ||
| $1000 | Juana de Ibarbourou | Ibarbourou Square, books | 1000 and electrotype 1000, Mil | 2015 | ||
| $2000 | Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga | National Library, Montevideo | 2000 and electrotype 2000, Dos Mil | 2015 |
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