Peru 1884 – 1 Sol – B.D. / F.D. Variety – Lima – KM#196.19 Obverse: National coat of arms of Peru, divided into three fields depicting a vicuña, a cinchona tree and a cornucopia spilling coins. The arms are surrounded by a palm and laurel branch tied below. Date 1884 below. Legend: REPUBLICA PERUANA LIMA. 9 DECIMOS FINO B.D. Reverse: Seated figure of Liberty facing right, wearing a Phrygian cap and holding a staff. At left, a shield bearing a radiant sun; at right, a column surmounted by a civic wreath, with LIBERTAD in raised letters on two ribbons. Initials F.D. at the lower left. Legend: FIRME Y FELIZ POR LA UNION Value: UN SOL Specifications: Country: Peru Denomination: 1 Sol Year: 1884 Mint: Lima Metal: Silver, .900 fine Standard weight: 25.00 g Standard diameter: 37 mm Reference: KM# 196.19 Variety: B.D.; F.D. on reverse, LIBERTAD in relief Historical Context: This Sol was struck during a particularly turbulent period in Peruvian history, shortly after the War of the Pacific and the Treaty of Ancón between Peru and Chile, signed on 20 October 1883. Peru ratified the treaty in March 1884, while the government of Miguel Iglesias continued to face armed opposition from Andrés Avelino Cáceres. The Sol had been introduced by the monetary reform of 1863 as the principal unit of a decimal currency divided into 100 centavos. Its statutory standard of 25 grams at .900 silver fineness is directly reflected in the inscription 9 DECIMOS FINO. The 1884 issue therefore combines Peru's nineteenth-century monetary modernization with the country's difficult political and economic reconstruction following the war.