Product Description
SCWPM.P123Ac-1 - Series: 1988 till 1997date: 21-2-1994 - Grade: Unc - Serie: WG
Signature: unknown.
Pic = Sample image - serial number and prefix may vary.
Description: Colour: Black on multicolor underprint.
Front: Finer portrait Simón Bolívar at center with dark clouds behind.
Back: Purple. New rendition of arms.
Printer: TDLR without imprint.
Size: 155 x 67 mm. - Material: paper.
Plate and style differences on face and back.
General information: 2000 Dollarization
Ecuador decided to switch their money to the US dollar from the old Ecuadorian Sucre back in the year 2000. Before this change, the inflation rate for the local Sucre currency was notoriously high and unstable.
The sucre maintained a fairly stable exchange rate against the US dollar until 1983, when it was devalued to 42 per dollar and a crawling peg was adopted. Depreciation gained momentum and the free market rate was over 800 per dollar by 1990 and almost 3000 per in 1995.
The sucre lost 67% of its foreign exchange value during 1999, then in one week nosedived 17%, ending at 25,000/US$1 on January 7, 2000. On January 9, President Jamil Mahuad announced that the US dollar would be adopted as Ecuador's official currency. Twelve days later, Mahuad was deposed by a populist, left-wing military coup; largely in reaction to the ongoing economic crisis. Vice President Gustavo Noboa became president, only to confirm the government's commitment to dollarization.
On March 9, 2000, President Gustavo Noboa signed a law adopting the US dollar as legal tender in Ecuador, replacing the sucre.[2] Sucre notes were no longer considered legal tender after September 11,[3] but they could be exchanged at the Central Bank of Ecuador until March 30, 2001, with an exchange rate of 25,000 sucres per dollar. Currently, Ecuador only issues its own centavo coins, which it did in part because US coins do not have numerals on them indicating their value, which was confusing to Ecuadorians