Salvadoran colón
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- Colón is also the name of Costa Rica's currency. For this, see Costa Rican colón.
| Salvadoran colón Colón salvadoreño (Spanish) |
|
| ISO 4217 Code | SVC |
|---|---|
| User(s) | El Salvador |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | centavo |
| Plural | colones |
| Coins | 1, 5, 10, 25 centavos, 1 colón |
| Rarely used | 2, 3 centavos |
| Banknotes | 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 colones |
| Central bank | Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador |
| This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |
The colón was the currency of El Salvador between 1919 and 2001. It was subdivided into 100 centavos and its ISO 4217 code was SVC. The plural is colones in Spanish but English-speakers often say colons instead. The currency was named after Christopher Columbus, known as Cristóbal Colón in Spanish.
[edit] History
The colón replaced the peso at par in 1919 and was replaced by the United States dollar at an exchange rate of 8.75 colones to the dollar (see dollarization) in 2001
[edit] Coins
Because the colón replaced the peso at par, 1 and 5 centavos coins issued before 1919 continued to be issued without design change after the colón's introduction. In 1921, cupro-nickel 10 centavos were introduced, followed by silver 25 centavos in 1943. In 1953, silver 50 centavos were introduced alongside smaller silver 25 centavos. Both were replaced by nickel coins in 1970. In 1974, nickel-brass 2 and 3 centavos coins were introduced, followed by 1 colón coins in 1984.
[edit] Banknotes
Until 1934, paper money was issued by private banks. In 1934, the Central Reserve Bank introduced notes for 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 100 colones. The last 2 colones notes were dated 1976 and the last 1 colón notes were issued in 1982. 50 colones notes were added in 1995 and 200 colones in 1997.
