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400 Escudos
| Issuer | Banco de España |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Bank of Spain Workshop, Madrid, Spain |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in violet, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche background of fine geometric lathe-work covering the entire field, with the numeral "400" in each of the four corners. A large central circular vignette, framed by a ring of repeated "400 ESCUDOS" lettering, encloses an allegorical figure; flanking foliate ornaments extend to either side of the central medallion. |
| Reverse lettering | 400 ESCUDOS |
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| Comments |
Spain's 1868 escudo series sits at one of the more abrupt fault lines in Spanish monetary history. The escudo had been introduced in 1864 as part of a decimalization reform, replacing the real at a rate of ten reales to one escudo — but the denomination barely had time to establish itself. The September 1868 revolution that overthrew Isabella II also brought a currency reset: the peseta system was adopted in 1869, rendering escudo-denominated notes obsolete almost immediately after this one was printed.
The Banco de España's in-house workshop handled production, which was not always the case for high-value notes of this period — foreign firms like Bradbury Wilkinson were frequently engaged for prestige issues. That this was printed domestically at such a transitional moment is itself a minor operational detail worth noting.