Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Banco de España |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in black, ochre, and grey; the central vignette presents a male allegorical figure wearing a winged helmet and cape, resting against a barrel and boxes with a caduceus, symbolising commerce. A cherub holding a caduceus appears at the top of the composition, while a secondary vignette in an oval medallion at the right shows a standing boy in a tunic. Black serial number printed in letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blank reverse. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco de España's 1868 escudo notes were issued during one of the most turbulent stretches of nineteenth-century Spanish political history — the Glorious Revolution of September 1868 had just deposed Isabella II, and the provisional government inherited a treasury in poor shape. The escudo itself had replaced the real in 1864 but would survive only until 1871, when the peseta system was adopted. That gives the entire escudo series a lifespan of barely seven years.
This 50 Escudos note thus belongs to a denomination that existed for a genuinely short window, issued by an institution scrambling to maintain credibility during a regency government that couldn't agree on who should be king.