MONEY in Peru and the USA

[DoChenRollingBearing]

...

On October 8, like many, I went to the bank to see if I could get some of the new $100 bills that were coming out that day. I went to two banks, neither had any.

The next day I went to a third, and they did. I went to the .gov website to look over the new features, and then went at it with my loupe.

I found a lot of microprinting that they did not mention at the newmoney.gov website.

I also found out that many of the "new" features were already in Peru's new 100 soles note (2012)!

I took some pictures...

http://tinyurl.com/mrkxrnd

***

Apparently some foreign exchange houses here sell Chinese Yuan as well, if I can find a nice, I will look it over and in a week or so report back...

The other interesting things I have found (but only just started looking around) is that it is hard to but investment gold down here. Gold jewelry is even a little hard to find because it is expensive. The only thing even close to a gold bullion coin I have found yet (remember, early in the investigation here) is a Peruvian 1 libra coin, with about 22% of an ounce (troy) of gold, some $300 give or take. The price they guy wanted?

$480!!

He told me that thyere is a small numismatic collector community that buys up the old Peruvian gold coins. I'll try to report back on that too.

***

Why all the delay? Because we are going to Chachapoyas (in the northern Andes) and nearby ruins "Kuelap" (pre-Inca) which are apparently very extensive but not yet excavated well. Fewer tourists too...

 

[pmbug]

Nice pics DCRB.

I'd love to go exploring some pre-Inca ruins some day. That sort of thing fascinates me.

 

[ancona]

DoChen,
What kind of inflation are you facing in Peru? Also, do you bring in lots of dollars to take advantage of the 'street spread'? I know that when I used to do a lot more traveling, if I was going somewhere with tightly controlled local money, or somewhere the dollar was the underground king, i would smuggle in as many dollars as I could [twenties mostly] because i could get far more for them that I could at official exchanges. Most local markets are good measures of the spread, since at least when I was doing it, I would spend a few bucks to see how much I could buy versus using local money. Frequently, I got fifteen to fifty percent more. Once the locals see you have dollars they will ask you outright to sell them.

I happened to be in Mexico a little while before we bailed them out with a multi-billion dollar loan, and doubled my cash on the street. I was there on business, but was able to fly my wife down [Little Ancona wasn't around yet] and have a week long vacation courtesy of "the spread".

 

[DoChenRollingBearing]

...

Hola amigos!

Kuelap is a large set of ruins that they still do not have figured out (fortress? retreat/fortress when enemies were around?), but it apparently is BIG. The ruins are located at almost 10,500 feet, the city of Chachapoyas (2 hours (?)) away is at 9000. Tomorrow we take the bus from Chiclayo (northern Peru coastal city) overnight up there (yeah I know, an overnight bus winding through the Andes, I WILL be on Xanax good & hard, LOL...)

Yes, that OVERNIGHT business on a Peruvian bus over the Andes is, err, worth a pill or two to just sleep through it all....

At 9000 feet I start feeling the headache, etc. due to "soroche" (altitude sickness), but not too badly. But, going up to almost 10,500 will be a "fun" experience. Still, it should be interesting. Cold at night though...

***

ancona, Peru has a free policy re exchanging money, no black market. Whether you go to a bank or to "cambistas" on the street, you get about the same rate (about 2.75 soles per dollar), no controls.

There IS fake money, so examine your big bills!

I read yesterday that Venezuelans go to Peru to get dollars to bring back with them to their country as the official vs. street rate for dollars vs. their currency is HUGE.

The thing that interests me (and will take some time to check out) is whether or not there are gold bullion coins for sale and whether there would be demand for them.

That $480 (retail sale price) vs. the +/- $300 worth of gold in a coin kind of implies that there may be room for someone bringing in fractional Eagles or Maples... Now THAT would be an interesting topic to explore...

 

[DoChenRollingBearing]

...

Ah, ancona, I note that there is little inflation in Peru. The dollar / sol rate has been stable for years, yet to my knowledge, it has not been "managed". For about two years the sol steadily ADVANCED vs. the dollar, but worries about China (Peru´s biggest trading partner now, an even bigger trading partner now than the USA is) have brought the sol down some 4% - 5% in recent months.

Still, the economy is growing, but a bit slower than before (it was roaring for almost 10 years), but inflation is still quite low (gasoline is expensive though).

Peru is pretty free...

***

I also forgot to mention that Kuelap has a wikipedia article for anyone interested.

 

[Potemkin]

...

On October 8, like many, I went to the bank to see if I could get some of the new $100 bills that were coming out that day. I went to two banks, neither had any.

The next day I went to a third, and they did. I went to the .gov website to look over the new features, and then went at it with my loupe.

I found a lot of microprinting that they did not mention at the newmoney.gov website.

I also found out that many of the "new" features were already in Peru's new 100 soles note (2012)!

I took some pictures...

http://tinyurl.com/mrkxrnd

***

Apparently some foreign exchange houses here sell Chinese Yuan as well, if I can find a nice, I will look it over and in a week or so report back...

The other interesting things I have found (but only just started looking around) is that it is hard to but investment gold down here. Gold jewelry is even a little hard to find because it is expensive. The only thing even close to a gold bullion coin I have found yet (remember, early in the investigation here) is a Peruvian 1 libra coin, with about 22% of an ounce (troy) of gold, some $300 give or take. The price they guy wanted?

$480!!

He told me that thyere is a small numismatic collector community that buys up the old Peruvian gold coins. I'll try to report back on that too.

***

Why all the delay? Because we are going to Chachapoyas (in the northern Andes) and nearby ruins "Kuelap" (pre-Inca) which are apparently very extensive but not yet excavated well. Fewer tourists too...

That coin is worth about 290-295 $ on spot. Considering the 22 % content.

But its numismatic value might be higher...

 

[DoChenRollingBearing]

...

Here in Chiclayo, waiting on our bus, a jeweler told me there is NO DEMAND for bullion gold coins in Peru. No one wants them.

:flail:

HE imports a tiny bit of PALLADIUM, an ounce every two months or so, to mix with gold to get 18 kt White Gold.

Learn something new each day...