Peru P137/138/139 5000 Intis 1988 UNC—Naval Hero Admiral Grau—Fishermen

Peru's 5000-inti note honors the man considered the greatest naval officer in South American history — a commander so chivalrous in battle that his enemies mourned his death — and pairs him with three fishermen mending nets on a dock, a quiet tribute to the Pacific coast that defined his life and his legend.

Front

• Colors:
  • White/cream background; deep purple/violet engraving on portrait; red left panel with pre-Columbian geometric patterns; olive-green coat of arms; red serial number; purple "CINCO MIL INTIS" text
• Portrait: Almirante Miguel Grau Seminario, right side, with full beard and mustache
• Center: Peruvian coat of arms
• Issuer name: BANCO CENTRAL DE RESERVA DEL PERÚ across top
• Denomination: "5000" lower left and both right corners; "CINCO MIL INTIS" below arms
• Name inscription: MIGUEL GRAU, lower right
• Signatures: Varies by printer — see Other Characteristics below

Back

• Colors:
  • White background; purple/violet engraving throughout on fishing scene; red "5000" numerals left and right; purple "CINCO MIL INTIS" bottom banner
• Scene: Three fishermen repairing nets on a dock; fishing vessel in background on open water
• Denomination: "5000" top left and lower right; "CINCO MIL INTIS" bottom banner
• Printer imprint: GIESECKE & DEVRIENT MUNICH, lower right (P137); ISTITUTO POLIGRAFICO, lower right (P138); THOMAS DE LA RUE AND COMPANY LIMITED, lower left (P139)

Other Characteristics

• Varieties: You may receive any variety:
  • P137 / TBB B477a — 1988-Jun-28, Giesecke & Devrient; Sigs: Juan Candela Gómez de la Torre (Dir.), Luis F. Rodríguez Vildósola (Pres.), Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (Gen. Mgr.)
  • P138 / TBB B476a — 1988-Jun-28, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato; Sigs: Juan Candela Gómez de la Torre (Dir.), Luis F. Rodríguez Vildósola (Pres.), Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (Gen. Mgr.)
  • P139 / TBB B478a — 1988-Sep-09, De La Rue; Sigs: Walter Reynafarje Bazán (Dir.), Luis F. Rodríguez Vildósola (Pres.), Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (Gen. Mgr.)
• Catalog numbers: P137 / P138 / P139; TBB B477 / B476 / B478; Numista N#206022
• Watermark: Admiral Miguel Grau
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 150 × 75 mm
• Issuing entity: Central Reserve Bank of Peru (Banco Central de Reserva del Perú)
• Printers: Giesecke & Devrient, Munich (P137) · Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome (P138) · De La Rue, London (P139)
• Demonetized: 1 July 1991
• Currency: Inti (1985–1991)

The Admiral Who Made His Enemies Weep

Miguel Grau Seminario (1834–1879) is Peru's greatest naval hero and one of the most admired military figures in all of South American history — celebrated not just for his courage but for his extraordinary chivalry. During the War of the Pacific (1879–1884), Grau commanded the ironclad Huáscar and for months held off the entire Chilean navy, raiding supply lines and protecting Peruvian ports. After the Battle of Iquique, where his ship rammed and sank a Chilean vessel, Grau personally rescued the surviving Chilean sailors from the sea — including the body of the Chilean commander, which he returned to the enemy with full military honors. When Grau himself was killed at the Battle of Angamos on 8 October 1879, the Chilean admiral who defeated him reportedly wept. The Chilean Congress sent his widow a letter of condolence. He is the only Peruvian to hold the title "Gran Almirante" (Grand Admiral) — awarded posthumously. His face appears on more Peruvian currency than any other figure in history.

The Fishermen of the Pacific

The reverse celebrates Peru's fishing industry — one of the most productive in the world. The Humboldt Current, a cold Pacific upwelling running along Peru's coast, creates one of the richest marine ecosystems on Earth, making Peru consistently one of the top three fishing nations by volume. The three fishermen mending nets by hand represent the artisanal fishing communities of the coast — the same Pacific that Grau sailed and died on. Peru's anchoveta (anchovy) catch alone accounts for a significant share of global fishmeal production, feeding livestock and aquaculture worldwide.

The Inti's Brief, Chaotic Life

The Inti replaced the sol at 1,000:1 in 1985 — already a sign of the inflation ravaging Peru. By 1990, annual inflation hit 7,649%. The Inti was replaced by the nuevo sol in 1991 at 1,000,000:1. This 5,000-inti note, worth fractions of a U.S. cent at demonetization, is now a vivid artifact of one of Latin America's most dramatic economic collapses.

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 of Lima: From Limaq, a Quechua word meaning “talker” or “speaker,” referring to an oracle at the site
• Population: ~34 million (UN 2024) — comparable to California
• Area: 1,285,216 km² (496,225 mi²) — comparable to Alaska or France + Spain + Germany
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$16,000 (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: Copper, gold, zinc, fishmeal, coffee, asparagus, textiles
• Borders: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile; Pacific Ocean to the west
• Official/spoken languages: Spanish (official); Quechua and Aymara (co-official); dozens of Amazonian languages
• Ethnicities: Mestizo (~60%); Amerindian (~26%); White Peruvian (~6%); Afro-Peruvian and other (~8%)
• Memberships: UN (founding member, 1945); OAS (1948); Andean Community (founding member, 1969, hosts secretariat in Lima); APEC (1998); Pacific Alliance (founding member, 2011)
• Sovereignty: Viceroyalty of Peru (1542–1821); Independence declared 28 July 1821; Republic of Peru (1821–date)

Peru Unfiltered

• Grau's chivalry: After sinking a Chilean ship, Grau rescued the survivors and returned the enemy commander's body with full honors — the Chileans wept when he died
• Fishing superpower: Peru is consistently one of the world's top three fishing nations by volume, powered by the cold Humboldt Current
• Hyperinflation record: Peru's 1990 inflation of 7,649% remains one of the worst in Latin American history
• Biodiversity: Peru contains ~10% of all species on Earth and is one of only 17 megadiverse countries
• Potato origin: The potato was domesticated in Peru ~8,000 years ago — the world owes its french fries to the Andes
• Shining Path: The Maoist insurgency (1980–2000) killed an estimated 70,000 people — the bloodiest internal conflict in South American history
• Nazca Lines: Enormous geoglyphs etched into the desert, some over 2,000 years old, still not fully explained
• Pisco war: Peru and Chile have an ongoing diplomatic dispute over which country invented pisco — both claim it fiercely

Own this note and hold the face of the admiral so honorable that his enemies mourned him — a man who turned the Pacific into his battlefield and made chivalry a weapon, on a note that itself sank into worthlessness within three years of issue.