100 Pesetas

This series was produced by the Banco de España's own printing works in Madrid at a time when Spain still operated its note production in-house, before later outsourcing to more technically sophisticated foreign printers. Bartolomé Maura Montaner was one of the most accomplished Spanish engravers of his generation — his work for the Real Casa de la Moneda earned him a sustained reputation, and his collaboration with the painter José Villegas Cordero brought a distinctly academic fine-arts sensibility to the intaglio work.

Spain's monetary situation in this period was still recovering from the fiscal damage of 1898, when the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines triggered a sharp contraction in public confidence. The 100 pesetas denomination circulated in a climate of residual distrust toward paper instruments.