By 1938, the Republic was losing the Civil War and controlled a shrinking fraction of Spanish territory. Iron was the only practical option — copper and other non-ferrous metals had been diverted entirely to the war effort. These coins were struck in Barcelona, one of the last major industrial centers still under Republican control, and circulated for barely a year before Franco's forces took the city in January 1939.
Surviving examples in collectible condition are rarer than mintage figures suggest — wartime hoarding was minimal, and the defeated Republic's coinage was actively removed from circulation afterward.
By 1938, the Republic was losing the Civil War and controlled a shrinking fraction of Spanish territory. Iron was the only practical option — copper and other non-ferrous metals had been diverted entirely to the war effort. These coins were struck in Barcelona, one of the last major industrial centers still under Republican control, and circulated for barely a year before Franco's forces took the city in January 1939.
Surviving examples in collectible condition are rarer than mintage figures suggest — wartime hoarding was minimal, and the defeated Republic's coinage was actively removed from circulation afterward.