Ecuadorian centavo coins

Ecuadorian centavo coins were introduced in 2000 when Ecuador converted its currency from the sucre to the U.S. dollar. The coins are in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos and are identical in size and value to their US cent counterparts. They circulate within Ecuador alongside coins and banknotes from the U.S.A.. Unlike in the United States, the Sacagawea dollar is commonly found in circulation. Ecuador does not issue any banknotes.

Ecuadorian centavos all bear the numeric value along with the value spelled out in Spanish, and the legend of the Banco Central del Ecuador; the reverse is printed with the portrait and name of a notable Ecuadorian president, the legend "República del Ecuador" and the country's Coat of Arms. The exception is the one-cent coin, which rather than bearing a portrait, is printed with a map of the Americas and bears the legend "Ecuador, Luz de América" ("Ecuador, Light of America"). Coins bear the date Año 200x, beginning in 2000; the largest proportion of coins in circulation are from the 2000 minting. With the exception of the one-cent coin, the coins are silver in colour; the "un centavo" coin is generally brass in colour although a few were struck in copper color (unlike most other pennies, whose similar coins are of copper).