Spanish peseta
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The peseta was the former currency of Spain and, along with the French franc, of Andorra until 1999 (de facto, 2002). It was originally divided into 100 céntimos or, informally, 4 reales.
It is also the term used in Puerto Rico for a U.S. quarter.
The peseta (₧) was introduced in the second half of the 19th Century when Spain was preparing to join the Latin Monetary Union. Spain joined in 1868, the same year when the first peseta was minted. The peseta replaced the escudo as the chief monetary unit, at a rate of 2½ pesetas = 1 escudo. The peseta was equal to 4.5 grams of silver or 0.290322 grams of gold, the standard used by all the currencies of the Latin Monetary Union (including the French franc and Italian lira). Unfortunately for the tracking of change against the standard, due to the political turbulences of the early 20th century the monetary union faded away in the 1920s, though was not till 1927 that the union came to an end officially.
Coins
| Peseta | |
|---|---|
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| 1 peseta 1998 | |
Until 19th June 2001, the following coins were minted by the Spanish Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre
| Value | € equiv. | Diameter | Weight | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ₧ | 0.006 (0.01) | 14 mm | 0.55 g | Aluminium |
| 5 ₧ | 0.03 | 17.5 mm | 3 g | Aluminium bronze |
| 10 ₧ | 0.06 | 18.5 mm | 3 g | Cupronickel |
| 25 ₧ | 0.15 | 19.5 mm | 4.25 g | Aluminium bronze |
| 50 ₧ | 0.30 | 20.5 mm | 5.60 g | Cupronickel |
| 100 ₧ | 0.60 | 24.5 mm | 9.25 g | Aluminium bronze |
| 200 ₧ | 1.20 | 25.5 mm | 10.5 g | Cupronickel |
| 500 ₧ | 3.01 | 28 mm | 12 gr | Aluminium bronze |
The 5 ₧ was referred colloquially as "duro".
Banknotes
The last banknotes series (1992) were:
| Value | € equiv. | Dimensions | Colour | Portrait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 ₧ | 6.01 | 130 x 65 mm | Green | Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro |
| 2000 ₧ | 12.02 | 138 x 68 mm | Red | José Celestino Mutis |
| 5000 ₧ | 30.05 | 146 x 71 mm | Brown | Christopher Columbus |
| 10,000 ₧ | 60.10 | 154 x 74 mm | Gray | Juan Carlos I of Spain and Jorge Juan de Ulloa |
The 1000 ₧ note was coloquially known as "talego".
Other Banknotes series (1982-1987) were also legal tender:
| Value | € equiv. | Dimensions | Colour | Portrait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 ₧ | 1.20 | 120 x 65 mm | Orange | Leopoldo Alas |
| 500 ₧ | 3.01 | 129 x 70 mm | Dark blue | Rosalía de Castro |
| 1000 ₧ | 6.01 | 138 x 75 mm | Green | Benito Pérez Galdós |
| 2000 ₧ | 12.02 | 147 x 80 mm | Red | Juan Ramón Jiménez |
| 5000 ₧''' | 30.05 | 156 x 85 mm | Brown | Juan Carlos I of Spain |
| 10,000 ₧ | 60.10 | 165 x 85 mm | Gray | Juan Carlos I of Spain and Felipe, Prince of Asturias |
200 ₧ and 500 ₧ were very rare.
There were also plans for a 20,000 ₧ note. With the accession of Spain to the euro, they were scrapped.
\"Andorran\" peseta
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.
After 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 in March 1, 2002, the peseta lost its legal tender status in Spain (also in Andorra). The exchange rate was 1 EUR = 166.386 ESP
The name is believed to have been derived from the Catalan word "peceta", meaning "little piece" (diminutive of "peça").
Peseta notes and coins that were legal tender on December 31, 2001, remain exchangeable indefinitely at any branch of the central bank.
Trivia
In the game Resident Evil 4, the main character is in europe and the currency is peseta, the game is based in 2004, even though the peseta had become obsolete by then.See also
- Latin Monetary Union (1865-1927)
- Spanish-American War (1898)
- First World War (1914-1918/1919)
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- Latin Union (Since 1954)
- European Union (Since 1957)
- Euro (From 1999/2002)
- Commemorative coins of Spain
External links
- [Overview of the peseta from the BBC]
- [History of the Spanish Currencies from 1492 to the 21st Century]
- [The Old Spanish Peseta of the late 1800s - Reign of King Alfonso XIII of Spain]
- [Spanish Speaking World in AD 1750]
- [Spanish Peseta currency calculator]
- [Banco de España: last peseta issues]
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