The "60th Anniversary of Peace and Freedom in Europe" theme was adopted by seventeen European mints simultaneously in 2005, coordinated through the Royal Mint Advisory Committee framework to mark six decades since V-E Day. Spain's participation placed Juan Carlos I — himself a product of Franco's carefully managed succession — in the unusual position of commemorating a democratic peace his country had been excluded from in 1945. Spain did not join NATO until 1982, and its post-war international isolation under Franco lasted well into the 1950s.
The FNMT struck this issue in .999 fine gold, notably purer than Spain's earlier gold commemorative programs.
The "60th Anniversary of Peace and Freedom in Europe" theme was adopted by seventeen European mints simultaneously in 2005, coordinated through the Royal Mint Advisory Committee framework to mark six decades since V-E Day. Spain's participation placed Juan Carlos I — himself a product of Franco's carefully managed succession — in the unusual position of commemorating a democratic peace his country had been excluded from in 1945. Spain did not join NATO until 1982, and its post-war international isolation under Franco lasted well into the 1950s.
The FNMT struck this issue in .999 fine gold, notably purer than Spain's earlier gold commemorative programs.