Old Uruguayan Peso
The old Uruguayan peso was the republic’s principal monetary unit from the nineteenth century until inflation forced a redenomination in 1975. Its banknotes trace the passage from private and state-bank issues to a modern central-bank system.
Quick Facts
Country: Uruguay
Code: UYP
Symbol: $
System: Decimal (1 Peso = 100 Centésimos)
Status: Withdrawn
Issuer: Central Bank of Uruguay
The Story of the Old Uruguayan Peso
Uruguay established the peso as a decimal currency in 1862, with 1 peso divided into 100 centésimos. Over more than a century it was issued through several institutional phases, including early bank issues, Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay and, from 1967, the Central Bank of Uruguay.
The long life of the currency produced a broad paper-money record. Portraits of national figures, allegorical subjects, industry, agriculture and public architecture accompanied changing printer contracts and increasingly sophisticated security features.
Persistent inflation ultimately made a new accounting unit necessary. On 1 July 1975 the nuevo peso replaced the old peso at 1 nuevo peso for 1,000 old pesos, closing a currency era whose final notes carried high denominations but retained the established national visual language.
Design & Symbolism
Old peso banknotes developed a recognisably Uruguayan historical narrative. Political leaders, writers and cultural figures appear beside civic buildings, pastoral scenes and symbols of productive life, linking monetary authority with national memory.
For catalogue study, the same subject can persist across dates while signatures, legal clauses or printer imprints change. These details reveal how a familiar design was adapted as institutions and monetary conditions evolved.
For collectors
For collectors, the currency offers both accessible type notes and demanding specialist series. Date, signature combination, printer and issue authority should be checked before assigning a variety, particularly where designs continued for several years.
The 1975 redenomination is the clearest dividing line: notes denominated simply in pesos before that date belong to the old-peso system, not to the later nuevo peso or peso uruguayo.
On 1 July 1975, the nuevo peso replaced the old Uruguayan peso at 1 nuevo peso = 1,000 old pesos.
