The Republic of Ecuador is a country in South America. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, Colombia on the north, and Peru on the east and south. Ecuador also includes the Galapagos Islands. Its largest city is Guayaquil, but its capital is Quito. It is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. Its 2008 constitution is the first constitution in the world to recognize the legally enforceable rights of nature.
Ecuador was once the home of the Inca Empire. It was colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century, achieving independence as part of Gran Colombia in 1820. Ecuador separated and became a sovereign state in 1830.
Ecuador has a developing economy that is highly dependent on commodities, including petroleum and agriculture. It is the 8th largest economy in Latin America. Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas and the 7th largest producer of cocoa.
The Quito Mint was inaugurated in 1830. A year later, the first Ecuadorian coinage law was passed and enacted until 1857, when the decimal system was introduced.
The Ecuadorian real replaced the Colombian real and Spanish real in 1833 at par. In 1851, the currency was pegged to the French franc, with 8 reals equaling 5 francs.
The Quito Mint produced silver and gold coins. The silver coins were issued in denominations of ¼ real, ½ real, 1 real, 2 reals, 4 reals, 8 reals, 1 escudo, 2 escudos, 4 escudos, and 8 escudos. In 1858, the 5 francos was issued, indicating the link to the French franc. Due to the poor quality of Quito coins, merchant tokens were used instead. Coinage production was suspended in 1862.
The peso replaced the real at a rate of 8 reals to a peso in 1871. The peso was subdivided into 100 centavos. The only coins issued between 1871 and 1884 were the 1 and 2 centavos, struck in cupronickel and produced at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham. The cupronickel coins continued to circulate after sucre was adopted in 1884.
The peso was renamed the sucre in 1884. It was the currency between 1884 and 2000, when Ecuador adopted the US dollar as its official currency due to the 1998-1999 financial crisis.
In 1884, the following denominations were issued in coins: the 1 ½ centavo, ½ decimo, 1 decimo, 2 decimo, ½ sucre, 1 sucre, and 2 sucres. Apart from the 1 ½ centavo coin which was made of cupronickel, Ecuadorian coins were made of silver. Copper replaced cupronickel in 1890. The 10-centavo coin was called a real while the 5-centavo coin was known as a medio. Gold sucre coins were issued in 1889 and 1900.
In 1909, cupronickel 1-, 2-, and 5-centavo coins were issued, followed by the 2 ½-centavo coin in 1917 and the 10-centavo coin in 1918. The production of silver coins was also suspended in 1916.
In 1928, a new series of coins was introduced. They were the bronze 1-centavo coin, nickel 2 ½-, 5-, and 10-centavo coins, silver 50-centavo, 1-, and 2-sucre coins, and the gold 1 condor coin. The gold condor coin was equivalent to 25 sucres or a US quarter eagle coin. This series of coins was also known as the Ayoras, named after the president of the time, Isidro Ayora.
In 1937, the nickel 20-centavo and 1-sucre coins were introduced. The brass 5-, 10-, and 20-centavo coins were introduced in 1942, and the silver 5-sucre coin was introduced a year later. The last silver coins were struck in 1944.
In 1946, cupronickel replaced brass. In 1959, a cupronickel 1 sucre coin and a nickel-clad steel 20-centavo coin were introduced. Nickel-clad steel replaced the material for coins until 1988. Due to high inflation in the 90s, the bi-metallic 100-, 500-, and 1,000-sucre coins were introduced.
