10 Pesos Fuertes Banco de Barcelona

The Banco de Barcelona, founded in 1844, was the first private bank of issue in Spain. This 1868 note predates the Glorious Revolution of September that same year by a matter of months — the political upheaval that deposed Isabella II also triggered immediate pressure on private banks of issue across Spain, as public confidence in paper instruments collapsed almost overnight and specie withdrawals surged.

The banco survived the crisis but lost its right of issue in 1874 when the Banco de España was granted the national monopoly. Most of the Barcelona bank's circulating notes were redeemed and destroyed in that consolidation, leaving pre-1874 survivors genuinely scarce.