As loyal followers of this blog know I ride the bus a lot. It’s the only way a gringo like me can get around the developing world.
It’s reasonably safe, sometimes clean, always crowded herky-jerky road-based roller coaster ride that is the preferred method of transportation for most Peruvians. Besides the surroundings, grime and the Spanish soundtrack one big difference is how you pay for the ride.
There are no machines to take your money. Instead, there’s a man or woman who works the door and charges you depending on how far you go. It’s a cash only business that’s 90% in coins.
Here in Peru coins rule. The 1, 2 and 5 Peruvian Nuevo Sol are coins. This dependence on heavy, metal money created a bit of a culture shock for this American. As a rule, Americans don’t like coins. We have paper money for a reason. It’s easy to carry. Your hands (usually) don’t smell or get dirty after using it.
Peruvian Money the coins on the bottom (from L-R) 5, 2, 1 sols 50, 20, 10, 1 centimos
If we have coins we don’t keep them. If they’re pennies, we leave them in the “take a penny, leave a penny” tray at the check-out. Things don’t work that way here for many reasons. First, the coin tray would likely get stolen. Second, you never get 1 centimos as change.
One and five centimos coins are hard to come by. The 1 cent is this little nub of a coin that looks and feels like the toy money you give little kids. It’s super light and I’m sure with a big enough chomp anyone could bite it in half. The only place that gives you 1 centimos is the grocery store. Even there, they are tough to get. Most of the supermarkets ask you to round up your cash purchases up and donate the cents to charity.
Five centimos pieces may be even harder to find. There isn’t one in the picture I found.
As you can see, there are bills. They start at 10 and go up to 200 soles. You never see the 200 soles bill and chances are most stores won’t accept them anyways for fear that they are fake. In Lima 100 soles bills are common. Once you get outside of the city, trying to pass a 50 can sometimes prove difficult.
If you buy something on the street almost all the prices are in straight soles. Usually one or two soles. Maybe something might cost you 2.50, but the 50 cent piece is a handy coin to have.
Using coins for so many things was an adjustment. At first, it was difficult fishing haphazardly through pockets looking for the right coin. Then I discovered one vital accessory: the coin purse. I don’t think I ever carried a coin purse before. Now its essential. Most people have one or if they don’t their wallets have a coin pouch.
Who knows if I’ll become a coin fan when we return. What can you really buy with American coins anyway? A gumball, a newspaper, a candy bar?
I love that you have a coin purse. Whenever I go on vacation (which is always in the US, because I’m that kind of girl) I go to the bank and get $10 in gold coins and 10 $2 bills. I use them to leave tips for little things, like drinks at casinos. Shaun says I’m a dork, but I like strange money, and I wish more people used the $1 coins. Esp. Sacajawea, but maybe that’s just my feminist bias showing through.