100 Pesetas

The Banco de España's 1898 100 Pesetas was issued against a catastrophic political backdrop: Spain was in the final year of the Spanish-American War, which would strip it of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines before the end of that year. The bank was simultaneously managing serious pressure on reserves, and paper emissions were partly a function of that fiscal strain rather than routine monetary management.

P#48 is notably scarce in any grade — the 1898 series had limited production runs compared to earlier 1890s issues, and wartime hoarding followed by postwar economic disruption meant few notes survived ordinary use.