100 Pesetas

The Banco de España began operating its own in-house printing workshop in the early 1880s, and this 1884 issue was among the first products of that operation — a deliberate move to bring note production under direct institutional control rather than relying on outside contractors. The decision was partly financial, partly political, reflecting the bank's growing ambition to consolidate its monopoly on note issue following the 1874 decree that had granted it exclusive privilege.

Watermarking was the sole mechanical security feature at this stage. Counterfeiting of Spanish notes during the Restoration period was a persistent problem, and the workshop's early output was not universally regarded as an improvement over earlier foreign-printed issues.