A handsome circulated example of Peru's mid-century brass Sol de Oro — engraved by Armando F. Pareja at the Lima Mint and featuring the iconic vicuña, Peru's national animal. This XF example retains sharp detail throughout with only light wear on the high points.

Obverse

• Colors: golden brass, warm amber toning
• Design: National emblem in a central circle — shield divided into three quarters (vicuña, cinchona tree, cornucopia), flanked by a laurel-and-palm wreath, with a civic crown above
• Lettering: BANCO CENTRAL DE RESERVA DEL PERU (around circle); date 1970 below
• Engraver: Armando F. Pareja

Reverse

• Colors: golden brass
• Design: Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) standing, facing right; engraver's signature PAREJA at lower left
• Lettering: UN / SOL / DE ORO
• Engraver: Armando F. Pareja

Other Characteristics

• Catalog numbers: KM# 248; Schön# 53; Numista N#920
• Composition: Brass
• Weight: 9 g
• Diameter: 28 mm
• Thickness: 2.04 mm
• Shape: Round
• Edge: Reeded
• Orientation: Coin alignment ↑↓
• Mint: Lima, Peru (1565–date)
• Years issued: 1966–1975
• Currency: Sol de Oro (1931–1985)
• Demonetized: 1985
• Issuer: Banco Central de Reserva del Perú

The Ghost of the Andes

At 4,500 meters above sea level — where the air is thin, the wind cuts like glass, and almost nothing survives — the vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) moves like a rumor across the Andean altiplano. Slender-legged, tawny-coated, impossibly graceful, it is one of the rarest and most protected animals on Earth. And for centuries, it was nearly gone.

The vicuña produces what many consider the finest natural fiber in the world — softer than cashmere, warmer than wool, and so delicate that a single animal yields barely 200 grams per year. The Inca understood this. They called the vicuña sacred, reserved its fiber exclusively for royalty, and managed wild herds through a ritual called the chaku — a great communal roundup in which thousands of animals were herded, shorn, and released unharmed. It was conservation before the word existed.

Then came the Spanish conquest. The chaku collapsed. Firearms arrived. By the 1960s — the very decade this coin was struck — the vicuña population had crashed from an estimated 2–3 million animals to fewer than 10,000. It was one of the most dramatic wildlife collapses in South American history, driven almost entirely by poaching for its pelt.

Peru responded. In 1969, the government declared the vicuña a national symbol and banned all hunting and trade. International agreements followed. Slowly, painstakingly, the herds recovered. Today there are roughly 350,000 vicuñas in the wild — a conservation success story that took decades of political will and community cooperation to achieve.

The animal on this coin is not merely decorative. It is a statement of identity. The vicuña appears on Peru's national coat of arms — the same emblem engraved on the obverse — because it represents something the Peruvian state wanted to say about itself: that this land, and its creatures, are worth protecting. Engraver Armando F. Pareja rendered it with quiet dignity: standing still, alert, facing right — as if it knows exactly what it represents.

Own this coin and you hold a small brass record of that moment — the early 1970s, when Peru was fighting to bring the vicuña back from the edge.

A Note on Coin Grading

We grade coins by condition — how much wear a coin shows from use. Below is the scale we use, from unworn to well-circulated.

Condition Grades

• Uncirculated (BU) — Bank-fresh: Full mint detail, no wear. May show light nicks or bag marks from contact with other coins. Never circulated.
• About Uncirculated (AU) — A whisper of wear: Still shiny with nearly full luster; only the very highest points show the faintest rub. Looks new at a glance.
• Extremely Fine (XF) — Lightly circulated: Sharp detail throughout, light wear on the high points, with traces of original shine in protected areas.
• Very Fine (VF) — Honestly circulated: Moderate, even wear. Every detail still fully visible, but the high points are smoothed and the original luster is gone.
• Fine & below — Well-worn: Clearly circulated with major detail visible but softened. Honest, everyday-grade coins.

A Note on Shine

Separately from wear, we may note a coin as Bright or Toned. Many circulated coins — including ones pulled straight from pocket change — are still bright and eye-catching, while others have naturally dulled or darkened, particularly the brass or "gold" portion of bimetallic coins. This is independent of grade: a lightly circulated coin can be bright, and an unworn coin can be toned.

Please note: Grades are assigned by visual inspection and reflect our best honest assessment. Individual coins are representative of their grade tier and may vary slightly. Natural toning and minor contact marks develop over a coin's lifetime, are normal, and are not considered defects.