Peru 10 Pcs SUPER SET—8 Banknotes UNC—Coins Vicuña not Llama XF Machu Picchu UNC

Ten pieces. Five centuries of Peruvian history. This curated set spans the final decades of the Sol de Oro era and the short, hyperinflation-scarred life of the Inti — bookended by two coins that tell a completely different story: a graceful Andean animal and the most famous ruin on Earth. Every banknote is Uncirculated; the Vicuña coin is XF Bright; the Machu Picchu commemorative is UNC.

What's in the Set

• 1 Sol de Oro coin — KM#248, Vicuña (1966–1975, date varies, XF Bright)
  A small coin with a big personality. The vicuña — the wild ancestor of the alpaca — produces the finest natural fiber on Earth. Peru protects it fiercely. This is not a llama.
• 1 Nuevo Sol coin — KM#360, Machu Picchu Commemorative (2011, UNC)
  Issued to celebrate the centennial of Hiram Bingham's "discovery" of Machu Picchu — a site the local Quechua people never actually lost track of.
• 5 Soles de Oro banknote — P-92 or P-99 (1968–1974, UNC)
  Inca Pachacutec on the front, Sacsayhuamán Fortress on the back. The emperor who built Machu Picchu, on a note printed by De La Rue.
• 1000 Soles de Oro banknote — P-118 or P-122 (1979/1981, UNC)
  Admiral Miguel Grau — Peru's greatest naval hero — faces right, while Pacific fishermen work the reverse. TDLR or ABNC printing.
• 5000 Soles de Oro banknote — P-117, P-119, or P-123 (1976–1981, UNC)
  Colonel Francisco Bolognesi, who chose death over surrender at the Battle of Arica, paired with miners drilling deep into the Andes. Bundesdruckerei, TDLR, or ABNC printing.
• 500 Soles de Oro banknote — P-125A (1982, UNC)
  Aviation pioneer José Abelardo Quiñones Gonzales, Peru's hero of the skies, alongside a jungle logging scene from the Amazon basin.
• 50 Intis banknote — P-130 or P-131 (1985–1987, UNC)
  Nicolás de Piérola — the flamboyant "Caliph" president — on the front; an oil rig and helicopter on the back. The Inti era begins.
• 500 Intis banknote — P-135 (1987, UNC)
  Túpac Amaru II, the indigenous rebel who led the largest uprising against Spanish colonial rule in 1780, faces Mt. Huascarán — the highest peak in Peru.
• 1000 Intis banknote — P-136 (1986–1988, UNC)
  Andrés Avelino Cáceres, the guerrilla general who harassed Chilean forces through the Andes after Peru's defeat, alongside the Chan Chan adobe ruins of the Chimú civilization.
• 5000 Intis banknote — P-137, P-138, or P-139 (1988, UNC)
  Admiral Grau returns — this time on the Inti's highest common denomination — with the fishermen scene once more. Three printer varieties; you'll receive one.

The Arc of the Story

This set traces Peru's monetary history from the Sol de Oro's twilight (1968–1985) through the Inti's brief, inflationary life (1985–1991). The Sol de Oro was replaced when inflation made it unworkable; the Inti was replaced when hyperinflation reached 7,649% annually in 1990. Both currencies are now demonetized — which is exactly what makes them collectible. The faces on these notes — an Inca emperor, two naval heroes, a colonial rebel, a guerrilla general, a martyred colonel, an aviation pioneer, a flamboyant president — are Peru's hall of fame, assembled in paper and ink.

Set Details

• Pieces: 10 total (8 banknotes + 2 coins)
• Banknote grades: Uncirculated (UNC)
• Coin grades: Vicuña XF Bright; Machu Picchu UNC
• Denominations: 5 Soles, 500 Soles, 1000 Soles, 5000 Soles (Sol de Oro era); 50 Intis, 500 Intis, 1000 Intis, 5000 Intis (Inti era); 1 Sol de Oro coin; 1 Nuevo Sol coin
• Years covered: 1966–1988
• HS Code: 4907.00
• Country of origin: Peru

Own the whole story — from the vicuña on the altiplano to the admiral on the ironclad, from Inca stonework to Amazonian oil rigs. This is Peru in ten pieces.

The Stories Behind Each Piece

The Vicuña: Not a Llama (KM#248, 1 Sol de Oro)

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is the smallest and wildest member of the South American camelid family — and the one with the most valuable coat. Its fiber, harvested only every two to three years by traditional chaku roundups, is so fine (12–14 microns) that a single vicuña scarf can cost over $3,000. The Inca considered vicuña wool sacred and reserved it exclusively for royalty. The Spanish nearly hunted the species to extinction; by the 1960s, fewer than 10,000 remained. Peru's conservation efforts brought the population back to over 200,000 today. Putting the vicuña on the Sol de Oro coin was a statement: this animal is a national treasure. It still appears on Peru's coat of arms.

Machu Picchu: The City That Was Never Lost (KM#360, 1 Nuevo Sol)

Machu Picchu was built around 1450 on the orders of Inca Pachacutec as a royal estate and religious retreat, perched at 2,430 meters above sea level in a saddle between two mountain peaks. When the Spanish conquered Peru, they never found it — the site was simply abandoned and the jungle reclaimed it. American explorer Hiram Bingham III was led there in 1911 by a local farmer named Melchor Arteaga, who knew exactly where it was. The 2011 commemorative coin marks the centennial of Bingham's "discovery" — a word Peruvians use with considerable irony. Today Machu Picchu receives over 1.5 million visitors annually and is Peru's single largest source of tourism revenue.

Pachacutec: The Emperor Who Transformed the Earth (P-92/P-99, 5 Soles de Oro)

Pachacutec — whose name means "He Who Transforms the Earth" — came to power in 1438 not through inheritance but through crisis. When the rival Chanka confederation attacked Cusco, his father Viracocha fled. Pachacutec stayed, rallied the army, and won. He then spent the next three decades building the largest empire the Western Hemisphere had ever seen, stretching 4,000 kilometers from modern Colombia to central Chile. He is credited with ordering the construction of Machu Picchu as a royal estate — making him, in a sense, the man behind the most photographed ruin on Earth. He died around 1471, leaving behind a road network, a census system, and a civilization that still defines Andean identity today. On the reverse of this note, Sacsayhuamán Fortress — built from limestone blocks weighing up to 125 tonnes, moved without wheels or iron tools — stands as his most staggering physical legacy.

Admiral Grau: The Hero of Angamos (P-118/P-122, 1000 Soles de Oro)

Miguel Grau Seminario (1834–1879) is Peru's most revered military figure — a man so respected that even his enemies mourned him. As commander of the ironclad Huáscar during the War of the Pacific against Chile, Grau spent months outmaneuvering a vastly superior Chilean fleet, protecting Peru's coastline and supply lines with a single ship. He was known for his chivalry: after sinking the Chilean corvette Esmeralda, he rescued survivors from the water and returned the personal belongings of a fallen Chilean captain to his widow. When Grau was finally killed at the Battle of Angamos on October 8, 1879, Chilean Admiral Patricio Lynch ordered his remains treated with full military honors. Peru named its highest naval rank after him. His face has appeared on more Peruvian banknotes than any other figure — including twice in this very set.

Colonel Bolognesi: "To the Last Cartridge" (P-117/P-119/P-123, 5000 Soles de Oro)

Francisco Bolognesi (1816–1880) was a Peruvian artillery colonel who became a national martyr at the Battle of Arica during the War of the Pacific. When Chilean forces surrounded the fortress of Arica and demanded surrender, Bolognesi famously replied that he had "duties to fulfill" and would fight "to the last cartridge." He was killed in the final assault on June 7, 1880, at age 63. Peru named a department, a province, a district, a warship, and countless streets after him. On the reverse, two miners drill into the Andes — a reminder that Peru's mountains have been its economic engine since long before the Spanish arrived. The Cerro de Pasco mine, one of the world's highest cities, has been continuously mined since the 1630s.

Quiñones Gonzales: Peru's Ace of the Amazon (P-125A, 500 Soles de Oro)

José Abelardo Quiñones Gonzales (1914–1941) was a Peruvian Air Force lieutenant who became the country's first aviation martyr. During the Ecuador–Peru War of 1941, his aircraft was hit by ground fire over the jungle. Rather than bail out and risk his burning plane crashing into a populated area, he stayed at the controls and guided it away. He was 26 years old. Peru declared him a national hero and established Air Force Day on the anniversary of his death (July 23). He is the only Peruvian military figure to be beatified by the Catholic Church — Pope John Paul II declared him Blessed in 1998. The reverse of this note shows jungle logging operations in the Amazon basin, representing the vast resource wealth of Peru's eastern territories.

Nicolás de Piérola: The Caliph Who Modernized Peru (P-130/P-131, 50 Intis)

Nicolás de Piérola (1839–1913) was one of Peru's most colorful and consequential presidents — a man so theatrical and autocratic that his opponents nicknamed him "El Califa" (the Caliph). He served as president twice (1879–1881 and 1895–1899) and as Finance Minister multiple times, and was the dominant political figure of his era. During the War of the Pacific, he personally led the defense of Lima against Chilean forces. In his second presidency, he modernized Peru's tax system, stabilized the currency, and laid the groundwork for the country's early 20th-century economic growth. The oil rig and helicopter on the reverse represent Peru's petroleum industry — a major economic driver centered in the Amazon and the northern coast, developed heavily in the 1970s under the military government that issued this note's predecessor currency.

Túpac Amaru II: The Last Inca Rebel (P-135, 500 Intis)

Túpac Amaru II — born José Gabriel Condorcanqui in 1738 — was a mestizo curaca (local chief) who claimed descent from the last Inca emperor and led the largest indigenous uprising in the history of Spanish colonial America. Beginning in 1780, his rebellion swept through the southern Andes, drawing in tens of thousands of followers across Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. The Spanish captured him in 1781 and executed him in Cusco's main plaza in a spectacularly brutal public ceremony designed to erase his memory — they killed his wife, children, and relatives before his eyes, then drew and quartered him. It had the opposite effect. His name became a symbol of indigenous resistance across Latin America; the Tupamaro guerrillas of Uruguay and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement of Peru both took his name. On the reverse, Mt. Huascarán — at 6,768 meters, the highest peak in Peru and the highest tropical mountain in the world — rises above the Cordillera Blanca.

Andrés Avelino Cáceres: The Wizard of the Andes (P-136, 1000 Intis)

Andrés Avelino Cáceres (1836–1923) earned his nickname — "El Brujo de los Andes" (the Wizard of the Andes) — during the darkest chapter of Peru's history. After Chilean forces occupied Lima in 1881, Cáceres retreated into the central highlands and organized a guerrilla resistance using montoneros — irregular fighters, many of them indigenous peasants — to harass Chilean supply lines and garrisons for two years. His campaigns through the Andes were tactically brilliant and logistically extraordinary, conducted at altitude in terrain that neutralized Chilean advantages. He later served as president twice (1886–1890 and 1894–1895). On the reverse, the Chan Chan adobe ruins near Trujillo represent the Chimú civilization — the largest pre-Columbian city in South America, built between the 9th and 15th centuries, covering over 20 square kilometers of intricate mud-brick palaces and compounds before the Inca conquered it around 1470.

Admiral Grau Returns: The Inti's Highest Note (P-137/P-138/P-139, 5000 Intis)

By 1988, Peru's hyperinflation was so severe that the 5000 Intis note — worth roughly $5 USD when issued — was losing value faster than it could be printed. The government would eventually issue notes up to 5,000,000 Intis before abandoning the currency entirely in 1991. That Peru chose to put Admiral Grau on its highest-circulation Inti denomination speaks to his enduring status as the nation's supreme hero — the one figure above political controversy, above regional identity, above the chaos of the moment. Three security printers produced this note (TDLR, ABNC, and Bundesdruckerei), reflecting the sheer volume needed to keep pace with inflation. The fishermen on the reverse — the same scene as the 1000 Soles de Oro — anchor the note in Peru's Pacific identity, even as the economy it represented was collapsing.