Timeline

• 1828-1836
• Issuance of sub-standard so-called "provisional coinage" during the time of the Central American Republic for the payment of troops by the government. They were finaly withdrawn by order of the Confederate authorities
  - 18.05.1828: Presidential decree on the issuance of "provisional" coins of 2, ¼ Real (the bullion was confiscated from the church)
  - 23.01.1832: Presidential decree on the issuance of "provisional" coins of 2 Real
  - 23.08.1833: Presidential decree on the issuance of "provisional" coins of 2, 1, ½ Real
  - 01.07.1835: Presidential decree on the issuance of "provisional" coins of 1, ½ Real.
  - 27.06.1835: Resolution of the Confederacy, invalidated all "provisional" coins of the member states and asked El Salvador and Honduras to withdraw
  - ??.11.1835: Salvadoran ordinance on the withdrawal of the "provisional" coins; implemented until January 1836.
• 1830-1869
• Repeated countermarking of foreign circulating coins:
  - 27.10.1830: Ordinance on the marking of coins of 8, 4 Real (stamp 1: "volcano - S.S. - 1830", for "San Salvador")
  - 18.12.1834: Ordinance on the marking of various silver coins (stamp 2: "wavy line")
  - 13.01.1840: Ordinance on the marking of Peruvian and Bolivian silver coins (stamp 3: "volcano – 1839")
  - ??.??.1861: Ordinance on the marking of Guatemalan silver coins (stamp 4: "R in beaded circle", for "rehabilitado")
  - 28.08.1868: Ordinance on the marking of Spanish colonial coins (stamp 5: "coat of arms")
  - 07.04.1869: Ordinance on the marking of Macuquina coins (stamp 6: "coat of arms")
  - 28.09.1869: Ordinance on the marking of British silver coins (stamp 7: "coat of arms").
• 1840-1880
• Official import of foreign coinage:
  - 07.10.1840: Presidential decree, declared all full-weighted Latin American silver coins legal tender
  - 09.07.1846: Presidential decree, extended legal tender status to Spanish colonial Macuquina coins (even damaged)
  - 28.02.1851: Ordinance, declared US-american gold coins legal tender.
• 1873-1880
• Withdrawal of the Spanish colonial Macuquina coins:
  - 04.09.1873: Ordinance, banned the further import of Macuquina coins
  - 24.11.1880: Ordinance on the demonetization of the Macuquina coins.

Timeline

• 01.04.1877
• Start of issuance of paper money (debt certificates) by the government with denomination "Peso", which in the absence of a currency law de facto referred to the Guatemalan currency.
• 1881-1919
• Unregulated paper money issuance by commercial banks:
  - Banco Agrícola Comercial (established 16.05.1895), first issues 01.03.1904
  - Banco de Ahuachapán (established 18.05.1895), only trial issues
  - Banco de América Central y Londres (established 09.06.1896), first issues 1895
  - Banco Industrial (established 25.06.1895), first issues 15.04.1896
  - Banco Internacional (established 05.04.1880), first issues 01.12.1881
  - Banco Nacional (established 28.05.1906), first issues 18.09.1906
  - Banco Occidental (established 14.11.1889), first issues 10.08.1891
  - Banco Salvadoreño (established 05.01.1885 as "Banco Particular", renamed on 12.12.1891), first issues 14.01.1899.
• 21.02.1883
• Government decree on the creation of a national currency in the bimetallic standard of the Latin Monetary Union; effective immediately
  - 23.06.1893: Government decree on the issuance of the new coins; effective immediately
• 1891-1896
• Operations of a national mint by Central American Mint Ltd.:
  - 29.04.1891: Law on the establishment of the mint
  - 28.08.1892: Start of operations
  - ??.??.1896: Closure.
• 30.09.1892
• Presidential decree on the switch to the gold standard; effective immediately
• 12.10.1892
• Presidential decree on the introduction of the name Colón for the silver Peso coin (on occasion of the 500th anniversary of arrival of Christopher Columbus in America); effective immediately.
  - Since the currency law did not change, the Peso remained the Salvadoran currency.
• 05.05.1904
• Ordinance, allowed the production of Salvadoran coinage in foreign mints (using the original dies); effective immediately

Valuation Regimes

• 1883-1892
• Metallic currency based on circulating gold and silver coins. Base weight is the Castilian mark / 8 Onzas / 8 Octavos / 72 Granos at 230.047 grams (1853-1869) and the kilogram (169-1899).
• 1892-1913
• Fixed rate against gold
• 1914-1919
• Variable rate, convertibility of the paper money was suspended on 11.08.1914, on of the four issuing banks (Banco Nacional) had suspended conversion already in November 1913

Timeline

• 11.09.1919
• Law on the currency reform, switched to the gold standard and allowed the unlimited circulation of US American gold coins; effective immediately
  - Paper money denominated in Peso was to be exchanged on par by the commercial banks
  - Circulating subsidiary coins of 20, 10, 5, 3, 1 Cents continued to be accepted on par, the 20, 10, 5 Cents in silver were demonetized on 28.02.1942
  - Silver coins of 50 Cents were demonetized with immediate effect but remained tolerated until February 1921.
• 09.03.1922
• Presidential decree on the paper money issuance by three commercial banks (all other banks had ceased their issuance before); effective 01.03.1922 (retro-active):
  - Banco Agrícola Comercial (established 16.05.1895)
  - Banco Occidental (established 14.11.1889)
  - Banco Salvadoreño (established 12.12.1891).
• 19.06.1934
• Government decree [Ley Constitutiva del Banco Central de Reserva, No. 65] on the creation of the Central Reserve Bank out of the Farmers' Commercial Bank (Banco Agrícola Comercial); effective upon constitution of the bank on 05.07.1934.
  - 20.04.1961: Government decree [Ley de Reorganización de la Banca Central de la Nación, No. 116] on the nationalization of the bank and split off of the commercial banking operations; effective 15.12.1961.
• 31.12.1950
• Expiry of the legal tender status of the notes the two remaining commercial banks
  :- The banks had renounced to their issuance privileges in agreements with the Salvadoran government on 03.05.1934 (Banco Occidental) and 12.05.1934 (Banco Salvadoreño) in the banking reform that led to the creation of the Central Reserve Bank.

Valuation Regimes

• 1919-1990
• Fixed rate against US Dollar (gold parity was suspended between 08.10.1931 and 18.12.1946)
• 1990-1995
• Variable rate
• 1995-2000
• Fixed rate against US Dollar

Timeline

• 30.11.2000
• Law [Ley de Integración Monetaria, No. 201] on the integration of El Salvador into the US American monetary system; effective 01.01.2001
  - The rate of 1 US Dollar = 8.755 Salvadoran Colón became unchangeable
  - US American banknotes and coins obtained unlimited legal tender status
  - The Salvadoran banknotes and coins remained legal tender, their further issuance got suspended indefinitely.
• 08.06.2021
• Law [Ley Bitcoin, No. 57] on the unlimited legal tender status of Bitcoin; effective 07.09.2021 by presidential decree [No. 27] of 27.08.2021