500 Pesetas

The Banco de España began operating its own in-house printing workshop in the 1870s, and this 1880 issue is among the earlier products of that facility — a deliberate move toward self-sufficiency after years of dependence on foreign printers. The three signatures reflect the board structure of the period: governor, sub-governor, and cashier, each signing individually rather than via facsimile, which makes genuinely authenticated examples identifiable by hand pressure and ink variation across the sheet.

Martín Belda, Marqués de Cabra, served as governor during a period of considerable fiscal strain following the Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1874. The 500 peseta denomination was not everyday currency — it circulated primarily in commercial and banking transactions, and surviving notes with any circulation wear are relatively uncommon precisely because so few hands outside trade ever touched one.