Ministerio de Ultramar Currency & Banknote Values

The Greysheet Catalog (GSID) of the Ministerio de Ultramar series of Puerto Rico in the World Currency contains 3 distinct entries with CPG® values between $75.00 and $450.00.

By 1895, the coins circulating in Puerto Rico were mostly Mexican silver, creating a shortage of currency, so Spain issued a royal decree on 17 August 1895 stating that the Mexican coins were to be exchanged for ones minted in Madrid exclusively for Puerto Rico. The Ministerio de Ultramar (Overseas Ministry, MDU) was established to facilitate the exchange.

On 6 December 1895, the regulation of currency exchange was decreed, prohibiting the circulation of Mexican pesos, which would be replaced by Puerto Rican pesos equivalent to the Spanish 5-peseta coin. The Mexican peso would be valued at 95% of its face value. The Mexican currency that was collected was exchanged half for silver and the other half for exchange notes that themselves would be redeemed for the new Puerto Rican silver coins.