The original 5 pesos in gold or 1 argentino – 8.06 grams, fineness 900, diameter 22.12mm (0.2334 oz). A witness to Argentina’s “Golden Age,” 1888 was ...
the peak of the country’s incredible economic rise. Thanks to the export of grain and beef during the Pax Britannica, Argentina at that time was among the ten richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, surpassing France, Germany, and Italy. This coin is a physical embodiment of the era when the Argentine currency was one of the most stable and desirable on the planet.
The coin was minted in Buenos Aires, and its dies were created by the outstanding French sculptor and chief engraver of the Paris
Mint, Eugène‑André Udine. Because of this, Argentine gold acquired a refined European style, and the depiction of Liberty on the reverse side strongly resembles the classic French type and early US coins, which made it iconic beyond the borders of South America.
A monetary monument to the hyperinflation of the 20th century — the coin clearly demonstrates what the collapse of a financial system leads to. Initially, 5 pesos were a huge amount of money, equal to 25 French francs. However, due to the destruction of the economy and hyperinflation in Argentina at the end of the 20th century, the purchasing power of the paper peso fell trillions of times. The gold coin from 1888 fully retained its value thanks to the metal, becoming a textbook example of gold as an ideal hedge against capital.
A coin from the era of the Latin Monetary Union, established in
1865 on the basis of standards introduced by Napoleon in 1800.
The LMU included 16 European countries, 13 Latin American countries, and 6 African colonies. It was compatible with Austria‑Hungary (in terms of gold and silver) and partially with Russia
(in terms of gold). This was humanity’s first major attempt at a global monetary system: the states agreed to issue their own coins (francs, liras, etc.) with absolutely identical weight, diameter, and metal purity.
At the same time, the national names of the currencies and the design were preserved: a bimetallic standard, gold/silver ratio 1:15,5 and 900 fineness, and denominations:
5 monetary units — 0.0467 ozt
10 monetary units — 0.0933 ozt
20 monetary units — 0.1867 ozt
25 monetary units — 0.2334 ozt
40 monetary units — 0.3734 ozt
50 monetary units — 0.4667 ozt
80 monetary units — 0.7465 ozt
100 monetary units — 0.9334 ozt
Coins from all participating countries were accepted at cash registers
and in stores in any other member state at face value, 1:1, without additional fees or exchange. The main gold standard was the French “Napoleon” with a denomination of 20 francs. It weighed exactly
6.45 grams, fineness 900, and contained 5.8 grams of pure gold.
Argentina never officially joined the Latin Monetary Union, but became a so‑called associated (de facto) member. To facilitate international trade with Europe, the Argentine government fully copied the European standard for its new gold currency. In a similar manner, dozens of countries around the world acted (from Spain and Venezuela to the Russian Empire, where gold half‑imperial coins of Nicholas II, weighing 0.45 grams, were also minted strictly according to the “Latin” standard).
The union collapsed in 1914, when the countries stopped exchanging paper money for coins, and inflation and the world war finally destroyed the balance.