The peseta (ISO 4217 code: ESP, standard abbreviation: Pta., Pts., or Ptas., symbol: P (rare)) was the currency of Spain between 1869 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra (which had no national currency with legal tender). It was subdivided into 100 centimos or, informally, 4 reales, but these subunits were completely out of circulation by the 1970s.
The name is believed to have been derived from the Catalan word pesseta, "small weight".
The peseta was introduced in 1869 after Spain joined the Latin Monetary Union in 1868. The Spanish Law of June 26, 1864 decreed that in preparation for joining the Latin Monetary Union (set up in 1865), the peseta became a subdivision of the peso with 1 peso duro = 5 pesetas. The peseta replaced the escudo at a rate of 5 pesetas = 1 peso duro = 2 escudos.
The peseta was equal to 4.5 grams of silver, or 0.290322 gram of gold, the standard used by all the currencies of the Latin Monetary Union. From 1873, only the gold standard applied.
The political turbulence of the early twentieth century caused the monetary union to break up, although it was not until 1927 that it officially ended.
In 1959, Spain became part of the Bretton Woods System, pegging the peseta at a value of 60 pesetas = 1 U.S. dollar. In 1967, the peseta followed the devaluation of the British pound, maintaining the exchange rate of 168 pesetas = 1 pound and establishing a new rate of 70 pesetas = 1 U.S. dollar.
The peseta was replaced by the euro in 2002, following the establishment of the euro in 1999. The exchange rate was 1 euro = 166.386 pesetas.
In 1869 and 1870, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 & 50 centimos, 1, 2 and 5 pesetas. The lowest 4 denominations were struck in copper (replaced by bronze from 1877), with the 50 centimos, 1 & 2 pesetas struck in .835 silver & the 5 pesetas struck in .900 silver. Gold 25 pesetas coins were introduced in 1876, followed by 20 pesetas in 1878. In 1889, 20 pesetas coins were introduced, with production of the 25 pesetas ceasing. In 1897, a single issue of gold 100 pesetas was made. Production of gold coins ceased in 1904, followed by that of silver coins in 1910. The last bronze coins were issued in 1912.
Coin production resumed in 1925 with the introduction of cupro-nickel 25 centimos. In 1926, a final issue of silver 50 centimos was made, followed by the introduction of a holed version of the 25 centimos in 1927.
In 1934, the Second Spanish Republic issued coins for 25 and 50 centimos and 1 peseta. The 25 centimos and silver 1 peseta were the same size and composition as the earlier Royal issues, whilst the 50 centimos was struck in copper. In 1937, an iron 5 centimos coins was introduced along with a brass 1 peseta. The last Republican issue was a holed, copper 25 centimos in 1938.
During the Civil War, a number of local coinages were issued by both Republican and Nationalist forces. In 1936, the following pieces were issued by the Nationalists:
The Nationalists issued their first national coins in 1937. These were holed, cupro-nickel 25 centimos minted in Vienna. Following the end of the Civil War, the Nationalist government introduced aluminium 5 and 10 centimos in 1940, followed by aluminium-bronze 1 peseta coins in 1944.
In 1947, the first 1 peseta coins bearing the portrait of Francisco Franco were issued. Nickel 5 pesetas followed in 1949. In 1949, holed cupro-nickel 50 centimos were introduced, followed by aluminium-bronze 2Â½ pesetas in 1954, cupro-nickel 25 & 50 pesetas in 1958 & smaller aluminium 10 centimos in 1959. Silver 100 pesetas were issued between 1966 & 1969, with aluminium 50 centimos introduced in 1967.
Following the accession of King Juan Carlos, the only change to the coinage was the introduction of cupronickel 100 pesetas in 1976. However, more significant changes occurred in 1982. The 50 centimos was discontinued, with aluminium 1 & 2 pesetas as well as aluminium-bronze 100 pesetas introduced. Cupronickel 10 pesetas were introduced in 1983. Cupronickel 200 pesetas were introduced in 1986, followed by aluminium-bronze 500 pesetas in 1987. In 1989, the size of the 1 peseta coin was significantly reduced & aluminium-bronze 5 pesetas were introduced. Aluminium-bronze 25 pesetas & smaller 50 pesetas were introduced in 1990, along with larger 200 pesetas.
The 50 pesetas coins issued between 1990 and 2000 were the first that featured the Spanish flower shape.
The dates of some Spanish coins can be found on small 6-point stars on either the obverse or reverse. The larger date that appears outside the stars is the design date.
In 1874, the Banco de Espana introduced notes for 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 pesetas. Except for the 250 pesetas notes only issued in 1878, the denominations produced by the Banco de Espana did not change until the Civil War, when both the Republicans and Nationalists issued Banco de Espana notes.
In 1936, the Republicans issued 5 and 10 pesetas notes. The Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) introduced notes for 50 centimos, 1 and 2 pesetas in 1938, as well as issuing stamp money (consisting of postage or revenue stamps affixed to cardboard disks) in denominations of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 centimos.
The first Nationalist Banco de Espana issues were made in 1936, in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 pesetas. 1 and 2 pesetas notes were added in 1937. From the mid 1940s, denominations issued were 1, 5, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 pesetas. The 1, 5, 25 and 50 pesetas were all replaced by coins by the late 1950s.
In 1978, 5000 pesetas notes were introduced. The 100 pesetas note was replaced by a coin in 1982, with 2000 pesetas notes introduced in 1983, 200 pesetas in 1984 and 10,000 pesetas in 1987. The 200 and 500 pesetas notes were replaced by coins in 1986 and 1987.
The penultimate series of banknotes was introduced between 1982 and 1987 and remained legal tender until the introduction of the euro.
The Andorran peseta (ADP) was a 1:1 peg to the Spanish peseta. As Andorra used coins and banknotes from Spain, there was no separate Andorran peseta, and they were convertible into normal pesetas.
Replacement by the euro
The peseta was replaced by the euro (€) in 1999 on currency exchange boards. Euro coins and notes were introduced in January 2002, and on March 1, 2002, the peseta lost its legal tender status in Spain, and also in Andorra. The exchange rate was 1 euro = 166.386 ESP. Prices in many Andorran supermarkets and other retail establishments are still shown dual-priced in euros and pesetas or in euros and French francs.
Peseta notes and coins that were legal tender on December 31, 2001, remain exchangeable indefinitely at any branch of the central bank.
Traditionally, there was never a single symbol nor special character for the Spanish peseta. Common abbreviations were "Pt", "Pta", "Pts" and "Ptas", and even using superior letters: "Ptas".
Common earlier Spanish models of mechanic typewriters had the expression "Pts" in a single type (P), as a shorthand intended to fill a single type space (P) in tables instead of three (Pts).
Later, Spanish models of IBM electric typewriters also included the same type in its repertoire.
When the first IBM PC was designed circa 1980, it included a "peseta symbol" P in the ROM of the Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) and Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) video output cards' hardware, with the code number 158. This original character set chart becomes later the MS-DOS code page 437.
Some spreadsheet software for PC under MS-DOS, as Lotus 1-2-3, employed this character as the peseta symbol in their Spanish editions.
Subsequent international MS-DOS code pages, like code page 850 and others, deprecated this character in favour of some other national characters, so the "peseta symbol" life was brief.
In order to guarantee the interchange with previous encodings (namely, the code page 437 in this case), the international standard Unicode includes this character as U+20A7 PESETA SIGN in its Currency Symbols block. Out of that, the use of the "peseta symbol" standalone is extremely rare, and it is outdated since the adoption of the euro in Spain.
Huge amounts of pesetas of dubious source were used to create a cash based money laundering real estate boom, just prior to the conversion to the Euro. Mafia and criminal holdings of pesetas in the billions were poured into massive real estate projects in Spain and elsewhere, the real estate could then be legally sold into Euros.
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