Peru P113 50 Soles de Oro 1977 UNC—Indigenous Rebellion Leader, Tupac Amaru II

One of Peru's most charged mid-century notes — the face of the man who nearly ended Spanish colonial rule stares out from the front, while the back immortalizes the small Andean town where his rebellion was born and crushed. History doesn't get more concentrated than this.

Front

• Colors: dark blue and black on pale pink underprint
• Portrait: Túpac Amaru II at right
• Left: workers (labor scene)
• Center: coat of arms of Peru
• Issuer name: BANCO CENTRAL DE RESERVA DEL PERÚ across top
• Face value: in numerals at all four corners; CINCUENTA SOLES DE ORO in letters below arms
• Signatures: 3 signatures — César Iglesias Barrón (CIB, Director), Germán de la Melena Guzmán (GMG, President), Luis Bordo Rosell (LBR, General Manager); series H195–H235
• Date & location: LIMA, 15 DE DICIEMBRE DE 1977, rotated 90°
• Printer name: THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY, LIMITED at bottom

Back

• Colors: dark blue and black on pale pink underprint
• Main illustration: landscape of the historic town of Tinta
• Issuer name: BANCO CENTRAL DE RESERVA DEL PERÚ across top
• Legend: EL HISTÓRICO PUEBLO DE TINTA
• Face value: in numerals at all four corners; CINCUENTA SOLES DE ORO at bottom center
• Printer name: THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY, LIMITED at bottom

Other Characteristics

• Catalog numbers: P-113; TBB B436j; BCRP# 161; Numista N#208171
• Date: 15-Dec-1977 (single date variery for this Pick catalog number)
• Series: H195–H235 (40,000,000 printed); replacements identified by series Z999
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 155 × 65 mm
• Issuing entity: Central Reserve Bank of Peru (Banco Central de Reserva del Perú)
• Printer: De La Rue, London
• Demonetized: 31 December 1986
• Currency: Sol de Oro (1931–1985)

The Man Who Almost Broke the Empire

José Gabriel Condorcanqui — who took the name Túpac Amaru II after the last Inca emperor executed by the Spanish in 1572 — was a mestizo curaca (local chief) and muleteer from the Cusco region who in 1780 launched the largest and most dangerous indigenous rebellion in the history of Spanish colonial America. His forces defeated a Spanish army at the Battle of Sangarará, besieged Cusco, and drew in tens of thousands of followers across Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. The Spanish response was overwhelming: he was captured in 1781, forced to watch the execution of his wife and sons, then publicly drawn and quartered in Cusco's main plaza. His body was dismembered and sent to different towns as a warning. It didn't work — the rebellion continued under his brother for another year, and Túpac Amaru II became the defining symbol of Andean resistance, Peruvian independence, and anti-colonial struggle for centuries to come.

Tinta: The Town That Started a Revolution

Tinta is a small town in the Canas province of Cusco, sitting at over 3,500 meters in the Andes. It was Túpac Amaru II's base of operations — the place where he organized his forces, issued his proclamations, and launched the rebellion that shook the Spanish Empire. After his capture and execution, the Spanish razed much of the town and salted the earth around his home as a symbolic erasure. The church of Santiago Apóstol de Tinta, visible on this note, survived — a colonial baroque structure that still stands today, a quiet witness to one of the most violent episodes in Andean history.

About Peru

• Origin of name: Likely derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler or river encountered by Spanish explorers in the early 16th century; the name was gradually applied to the entire region
• Capital: Lima (city pop. ~10 million; metro pop. ~11 million)
  • Origin of name: Corrupted from Limaq, the name of the Rimac River in the local Quechua dialect, meaning "talker" or "speaker"
• Population: ~34 million (UN 2024) — slightly larger than Canada
• Area: 1,285,216 km² (496,225 mi²) — slightly smaller than Alaska; larger than France, Spain, and Germany combined
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$16,000 (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: copper, gold, zinc, lead, fishmeal, asparagus, coffee, textiles
• Borders: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile; Pacific Ocean to the west
• Ethnicities: Mestizo (~60%), Amerindian (~26%), White Peruvian (~6%), Afro-Peruvian (~4%), other (~4%)
• Memberships: United Nations (founding member, 1945); OAS (founding member, 1948); WTO (1995); Pacific Alliance (founding member, 2011); APEC (1998)
• Sovereignty:
  • Inca Empire (c. 1438–1533) — largest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas
  • Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru (1542–1821)
  • Independence declared July 28, 1821; fully secured 1824 (Battle of Ayacucho)
  • Republic of Peru (1821–date) — this note issued during this period

Peru Unfiltered

• Peru is the world's second-largest producer of copper and silver and third-largest of zinc — its mountains are essentially a giant vault of metals that have driven empires, colonial extraction, and modern industry alike.
• The Amazon River begins in Peru. The Ucayali–Apurímac system, traced to a glacier on Nevado Mismi, is now recognized as the river's true source — making Peru the birthplace of the world's largest river by discharge.
• Peru has three completely distinct geographic zones within one country: the hyper-arid Pacific coast (one of the driest places on Earth), the Andes highlands above 4,000 m, and the Amazon jungle — each with its own climate, culture, and cuisine.
• Ceviche is a UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage dish — Peru takes its food seriously enough to have a national holiday for it (June 28).
• The Nazca Lines remain unexplained. Geoglyphs etched into the desert floor, some stretching 370 meters, were made by a civilization that vanished before the Inca. Their purpose — astronomical calendar? ritual landscape? alien landing strip? — is still debated.
• Peru's currency has been redenominated four times since this note was printed: Sol de Oro → Inti (1985) → Nuevo Sol (1991) → Sol (2015). Hyperinflation in the late 1980s reached 7,649% annually.
• Lake Titicaca, shared with Bolivia, is the world's highest navigable lake at 3,812 m — and home to the Uros people, who live on floating islands made entirely of totora reeds.

Own this note and hold the face of the man who dared to challenge an empire — and the town that paid the price for it. The 50 Soles de Oro is a historically electric note, perfect for a Peru set, a Latin American independence collection, or anyone drawn to the stories of resistance that shaped the modern world.