By Jeff Starck for COIN WORLD

Peso coinage, found in areas of former Spanish influence and control, offers a wealth of opportunity for the adventurous world coin collector.

One can currently travel through Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Uruguay and pay using only pesos. Though the nations don’t share a common currency, their currencies share a common name.

The list of the countries that once used the peso denomination is even longer, a veritable map of Central and South America. Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela all, at one time, issued peso-denominated coinage.

Creating a collection of peso coinage from each issuing country, past or present, could prove to be an exciting and educational endeavor.