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Obverse of 1968 Ecuadorian 2 Sucres
Reverse of 1968 Ecuadorian 2 Sucres

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Reverse of 1973 Ecuadorian Dos Sucres
Obverse of 1973 Ecuadorian Dos Sucres

A Brief History of Ecuador
Ecuador is a South American Republic. Its name is derived from its geographical position, as the equator runs through it. Its capital is Quito, which was once an Inca city as well as a Spanish imperial one.

Pre-Spanish History
The present capital, Quito was founded by the tribe for which the city is named, sometime in the First Millennium BC. The Quito were subsequently conquered by another tribe called the Caras in the 10th Century A.D. The Caras/Quito People were then conquered by the Incas in 1462; the city was turned into a major city within the Inca Empire.

Spanish Colonisation
The Incas ruled Quito and its surrounding territory for less than a century however, when the Spanish arrived in 1531, led by Fransisco Pizzaro the Spanish Conquistadors found that the Incas were in the middle of a civil war between the half-brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa for the Inca throne. Atahualpa eventually emerged victorious, but the bloodshed had severely weakened the Incas.
The Spanish used their superior weapons and armour to defeat the weakened Incas, capture Quito and after gaining a huge ransom for the release of Atahualpa, executed him anyway in 1533.
What is now Ecuador subsequently became part of the Royal Audencia of Quito within the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1563, before becoming part of the newly created Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717.

Independence
In 1820, Quito declared independence, and a struggle lasting until 1822 secured it. The territory joined a new federal state known as the Republic of Gran Columbia. However, this federation, torn apart between centralists and federalists and having fought a costly and inconclusive war with Peru, fell apart in 1830, and the following year, Ecuador officially became a sovereign independent republic.

Post-Independence
As in many other former Spanish colonies in the Americas, independence did little to change the social structure of the time. Wealthy landowners maintained power and used it in their own interests. Conflicts emerged between liberal reformers and conservative landowners, allied with the clergy (this struggle also existed throughout most of the Spanish world, including Spain itself). ~
However, in 1895 a liberal revolution swept Ecuador and brought the Radical Liberal Party to power, led by Eloy Alfaro.

Conflict and Dictatorship
Ecuadorian politics remained heavily polarised, as it did elsewhere in South America. The Radical Liberals tended to be pro-worker, anti-clerical and anti-oligarch. Sometimes this rivalry between liberals and conservatives escalated into violence. Every single Radical Liberal government was eventually removed by a conservative-minded military coup.
A territorial dispute with Peru was not resolved until 1998, during which time military conflict between Ecuador and Peru emerged in the years 1941, 1981 and 1995, but which were fought without resolution. Today, Ecuador is a democracy but remains a comparatively unstable one, particularly as the global financial crisis has severely affected the country. In 2010, police officers allegedly held President Rafael Correa hostage over reforms to pay and conditions in their disfavour. A military intervention released the President, but several police officers were killed in the process.

Coinage of Ecuador
The first coins used in Ecuador were Spanish pieces based on the 8-Reale 'Spanish Dollar'. Upon independence, the Reale was introduced to replace the Spanish Reale. A decimal currency, the Peso was introduced 1871, worth 8 old Reales, and divided into 100 centavos, of which only the 1 and 2 Centavo coins were struck, in cupronickel at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham. In 1884, the Peso was renamed the Sucre, and coins of ˝ and 1 centavo, ˝ decimo, and 1 and 2 decimos, ˝ and 1 sucre coins were issued for circulation.
However, high inflation depreciated the currency enormously over the coming century. By the time the Sucre was withdrawn and replaced by the US Dollar in 200, the only coins in circulation were those of 100, 500, 1000 sucres.
US currency is now the official currency of Ecuador, although Ecuador does strike its own 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavo coins, equal to their US Cents equivalent and struck to similar specifications.

For Sale and Wanted
If you are interested in coins from Ecuador please see our product index:-
Ecuadorian Coins

Gold Coins
We also have gold coins from Ecuador on our taxfreegold website:-
Ecuadorian Gold Coins



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