Guinea-Bissau peso

Guinea-Bissau peso

peso da Guiné-Bissau (Portuguese)
500 pesos banknote from 1990
ISO 4217
Code	GWP
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	centavos
Banknotes	50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 pesos
Coins	50 centavos, 1, 2+1⁄2, 5, 20 pesos
Demographics
Date of introduction	1975
Replaced	Portuguese Guinean escudo
Date of withdrawal	1997
User(s)	Guinea-Bissau
Issuance
Central bank	National Bank of Guinea-Bissau
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

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.

Coins

Coins were issued in denominations of 50 centavos, 1, 2+1⁄2, 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
[1]	[2]	50 pesos	Reddish-purple	Pansau Na Isna	Villagers
[3]	[4]	100 pesos	Khaki	Domingos Ramos	Central Bank building in Bissau
[5]	[6]	500 pesos	Blue	Francisco Mendes	Slavery
[7]	[8]	1000 pesos	Brown	Amílcar Cabral	"Apoteose ao Triunfo"
[9]	[10]	5000 pesos	Purple and brown	Amílcar Cabral	Fieldwork
[11]	[12]	10,000 pesos	Green	Amílcar Cabral	Fishermen

See also

• Economy of Guinea-Bissau

External links

• The Bank Notes of Guinea-Bissau by Peter Symes

Guinea-Bissau peso

Preceded by: Portuguese Guinean escudo Reason: independence Ratio: at par

Currency of Guinea-Bissau 1975 – 1997

Succeeded by: West African CFA franc Reason: joining currency union and inflation Ratio: 1 franc = 65 pesos