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A Gringo's Culture Guide to Chile

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Home / Chilean Peso

Chilean Peso

From México to Colombia to Argentina, the peso is the standard monetary unit. Although several Latin American countries use the peso, they are not all the same. The Chilean peso is, of course, what is used in Chile. There are several paper bills as well as a pocketful of coins. The Chilean peso is fairly stable with a good exchange rate with the US dollar.

First Chilean PesoChile finally gained independence from Spain in 1818 after the battle of Maipú. At this time, the first coin of an independent Chile became the silver peso minted in 1817 (see image to the right). With the establishment of the decimal system in 1851, Chile started minting its first copper coins.

In 1975 the peso replaced the escudo (that in 1960 had replaced the old peso), with one peso equal to 1000 escudos.

During my time in Chile (1995-1997) the exchange rate was about 400 pesos to the US Dollar. Inflation has added to that number today. For current exchange rates visit our Chile exchange rate page.

Chilean Peso – Bills

Bills come in denominations of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, and 20000 Pesos. Use the links below to learn more about each bill.

 

$1000 Pesos

$2000 Pesos

$5000 Pesos

$10000 Pesos

$20000 Pesos

Chilean Peso – Coins

Coins come in all shapes, sizes and values. There are peso coins in denominations of 10, 50, 100, and 500 pesos. The 1 peso and 5 peso coins are being retired in 2018 as all transactions will be rounded either up or down to the nearest 10 pesos. Use the links below to learn more about each of them.

 

$10 Pesos

$50 Pesos

$100 Pesos

$100 Pesos

$500 Pesos

 

Need current exchange rates? Visit our Chile exchange rate utility.

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The Gringo’s Culture Guide to Chile is designed to help you understand Chileans, their culture, food, language, and daily life so you can enjoy your time in this beautiful country and not be blindsided by culture shock.

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