Bank of Spain issues first peseta banknotes (1874)

The Bank of Spain, established as the national central bank, began issuing peseta banknotes in 1874. This issuance followed the government granting the bank a monopoly on bank note issuance to support civil and colonial wars. The first notes were introduced in denominations ranging from 25 to 1,000 pesetas.

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Background and detail

Background. The Bank of Spain, originally founded as the Banco Nacional de San Carlos in 1782, became the Spanish central bank in 1874. The government granted the bank a monopoly on issuing Spanish bank notes in 1874 to secure financial support for its civil and colonial wars. This institutional change facilitated the formal introduction of peseta banknotes.

First Issuance. In 1874, the Bank of Spain introduced its first peseta banknotes. These notes were issued in denominations of 25, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 pesetas. The issuance occurred in Madrid, where the bank had been able to issue its own notes against a fund created in 1829.

Monetary Context. The peseta was formally introduced as a currency unit in 1868, replacing the colloquial name for a coin worth one-fifth of a peso. The 1874 issuance marked the beginning of the Bank of Spain's role as the issuer of the peseta, a role it maintained until 1998.

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