Ecuador 1988 sucre
This specimen was lot 56111 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $60. The catalog description[1] noted, "ECUADOR. Sucre, 1988. Lima Mint. PCGS MS-67+." This type was struck 1988 and 1990. Ecuador is now "dollarized" and any sucres being struck are strictly NCLT's.
Wikipedia comments,
"in September 1937, ...the official rate was set at 13.50 per US dollar. The sucre was devalued to 14.77 per dollar on June 4, 1940, and exchange controls were reimposed. The official rate became 14.00 per in 1942 and 13.50 per in 1944.
Parity was registered with the International Monetary Fund on December 18, 1946, at 65.827 mg fine gold (13.50 per US$), but a system of multiple exchange rates was adopted in 1947. The sucre's IMF par was devalued to 15 per dollar in 1950, to 18 per in 1961, and to 25 per in 1970.
The sucre maintained a fairly stable exchange rate against the US dollar until 1983, when it was devalued to 42 per dollar and a crawling peg was adopted. Depreciation gained momentum and the free market rate was over 800 per dollar by 1990 and almost 3000 per in 1995.
The sucre lost 67% of its foreign exchange value during 1999, then in one week nosedived 17%, ending at 25,000/US$1 on January 7, 2000. On January 9, President Jamil Mahuad announced that the US dollar would be adopted as Ecuador's official currency. Twelve days later, Mahuad was deposed by a populist, left-wing military coup; largely in reaction to the ongoing economic crisis. Vice President Gustavo Noboa became president, only to confirm the government's commitment to dollarization."
Recorded mintage: unknown. The SCWC states about 100,000 pieces were released before the remainder was recalled and melted.
Specification: nickel plated steel.
Catalog reference: KM-89.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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