Colonel Francisco Bolognesi on the front and miners with a shovel and pneumatic drill on the back — the Peruvian 5000 soles de oro places the hero beside the country’s mining industry. Bolognesi was killed on 7 June 1880 at the Battle of Arica, having answered a demand to surrender that he would do his duty «until the last cartridge is fired»; the words became the motto of the Peruvian Army.

The note is dated 21 June 1985, one of the late issues of the sol de oro. Bolognesi returned to the money in the new currency: on the 100,000 intis of 1989 his portrait sits alongside the boats of Lake Titicaca.

In 1985 the sol de oro was replaced by the inti at 1000 soles to one inti, and from January 1991 Peru’s currency became the nuevo sol. The Central Reserve Bank now states plainly that the former units — the intis and soles de oro — have been withdrawn from circulation and are no longer legal tender.

The note covers the late sol de oro era in a Peru section and pairs with the 100,000 intis, where Bolognesi appears again; it also suits a mining theme. UNC condition means the note has never circulated: no folds, no wear, no soiling, even corners — just as it left the press.

If this banknote has caught your interest, the VPcoins catalogue has other issues from the same issuer worth seeing.