Uruguayan Nuevo Peso
The Uruguayan nuevo peso was introduced in 1975 as a one-thousand-to-one redenomination of the old peso. It served through another inflationary cycle before the peso uruguayo replaced it in 1993.
Quick Facts
Country: Uruguay
Code: UYN
Symbol: N$
System: Decimal (1 Nuevo Peso = 100 Centésimos)
Status: Withdrawn
Issuer: Central Bank of Uruguay
The Story of the Uruguayan Nuevo Peso
The nuevo peso entered use on 1 July 1975 at 1 nuevo peso for 1,000 old pesos. It was divided into 100 centésimos and identified by the symbol N$, making the new unit explicit on notes, prices and accounts.
Its banknote history reflects a period of continuing monetary pressure. Existing designs were adapted, denominations rose and new series appeared under the Central Bank of Uruguay. The currency nevertheless maintained the established practice of using national personalities, monuments and productive themes to anchor monetary design in the country’s history.
A second redenomination took effect on 1 March 1993. The peso uruguayo replaced the nuevo peso at 1 new peso for 1,000 nuevos pesos, ending a currency that had lasted less than eighteen years.
Design & Symbolism
Nuevo-peso notes combine formal portraiture with scenes of education, culture, public institutions and the national economy. Many subjects continue traditions established on earlier peso issues, but the N$ unit and rapidly increasing face values place them firmly in their own monetary period.
Printer imprints, signatures and dated decrees add a second historical layer. They show how the central bank revised production while retaining visual continuity across inflation-driven denomination changes.
For collectors
For collectors, the N$ designation is the essential first check. Similar portraits or layouts may occur on old-peso, nuevo-peso and later peso-uruguayo notes, so the printed currency wording should take precedence over appearance alone.
Date, signature pair, series letter and printer can separate varieties within a denomination. High-value notes from the final years are especially useful for illustrating the pace of inflation before the 1993 reform.
The nuevo peso began on 1 July 1975 at 1 nuevo peso = 1,000 old pesos; on 1 March 1993 it was replaced at 1 peso uruguayo = 1,000 nuevos pesos.
