The peso was the currency of Guinea-Bissau from 1975 to 1997 and was divided into 100 centavos. It replaced the escudo at par. In 1997, in an effort to stop high inflation, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc, using a conversion rate of 65 pesos to the franc.
History The peso replaced the escudo in 1975. It was originally equivalent to the Portuguese escudo.
Historical exchange rates 1975–1976: fixed exchange rate with the Portuguese escudo at parity. 1976–1977: fixed exchange rate with the Portuguese escudo (0.85 GWP = 1.00 PTE) 1977–1978: fixed exchange rate with the Portuguese escudo (0.74 GWP = 1.00 PTE) 26 May 1978 – 22 December 1983: fixed exchange rate with the special drawing rights at a rate of 44 pesos per SDR. 23 December 1983: Peso devalued to 88 per SDR. 4 May 1987: Peso devalued to 650 per USD.
Continued rapid inflation had eroded the value of the peso. By 1996, the exchange rate had reached 225 pesos per Portuguese escudo.
The adoption of the CFA Franc in 1997 created a steep inflation, which in turn contributed to the social unrest that led to the 1998 coup.
Coins Coins were issued in denominations of 50 centavos, 1, , 5 and 20 pesos.
Banknotes Banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, and 500 pesos dated 24-9-1975 (24 September 1975) were issued on 2 March 1976. 1000 peso notes were introduced in 1978, followed by 5000 pesos notes in 1984 and 10,000 pesos notes in 1990.
Current Series Image Value Main Colour Description Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse 50 pesos Reddish-purple Pansau Na Isna Villagers 100 pesos Khaki Domingos Ramos Central Bank building in Bissau 500 pesos Blue Francisco Mendes Slavery 1000 pesos Brown Amílcar Cabral "Apoteose ao Triunfo" 5000 pesos Purple and brown Amílcar Cabral Fieldwork 10,000 pesos Green Amílcar Cabral Fishermen
See also
Economy of Guinea-Bissau
References
External links The Bank Notes of Guinea-Bissau by Peter Symes