El Salvador Banknotes Catalog
The history of banknotes in El Salvador is a fascinating journey through the economic and cultural evolution of the Central American country. From their first issues to the present day, Salvadoran banknotes have reflected important political and social changes.
Old banknotes of El Salvador
The first Salvadoran banknotes were issued in 1934 by the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador. These first issues included denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 100 colones, featuring images of historical characters and national landscapes. An important milestone occurred in 1961, when the 50 colones bill was introduced, thus completing the series of denominations that would circulate for decades.
Current banknotes and dollarization
In 2001, El Salvador underwent a radical change in its monetary system by adopting the US dollar as legal tender. This decision, known as dollarization, marked the end of the circulation of the Salvadoran colón. Currently, the banknotes in circulation are U.S. dollars, although the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador maintains the power to issue commemorative coins in dollars, thus preserving part of its numismatic tradition.
| Country | El Salvador |
| Flag | |
| Coin | United States dollar (USD) |
| 1€ | $1.09 |
| Continent | America Centro |
| Capital city | San Salvador |
| ISO2 | SV |
| ISO3 | SLV |
| Catalogued banknotes | 117 |
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📌 Some countries such as El Salvador have adopted the $USD as their official coin. The banknotes shown may be older banknotes or belong to special series issues.
Valuable and popular banknotes
The most valuable El Salvador banknotes sought after by collectors are the following:
