Currency of Spain

The peseta is the former currency of Spain and, (along with the French Franc), of Andorra. It was originally divided into 100 céntimos or, informally, 4 reales.

Denominations
At the time of the changeover to the Euro, the following coins were being produced.

• 1 Peseta (0.60 cent)
  
• 5 Pesetas (3 cent) ("duro")
  
• 10 Pesetas (6 cent)
  
• 25 Pesetas (15 cent)
  
• 50 Pesetas (30 cent)
  
• 100 Pesetas (60 cent)
  
• 200 Pesetas (1.20 €)
  
• 500 Pesetas (3 €)
  

Banknotes were:

• 1000 Pesetas (6 €)
  
• 2000 Pesetas (12 €)
  
• 5000 Pesetas (30 €)
  
• 10,000 Pesetas (60 €)
  

History
The peseta (P) was introduced in the second half of the 19th Century when Spain was preparing to join the Latin Monetary Union. Spain joined in 1868, the same year when the first Peseta was minted. The peseta replaced the escudo as the cheif monetary unit, at a rate of 2½ pesetas = 1 escudo. The peseta was equal to 4.5 grams of silver or 0.290322 grams of gold, the standard used by all the currencies of the Latin Monetary Union (including the French franc and Italian lira). Unfortunately, due to the political turbulences of the early 20th Century the monetary union faded away in the 1920s though was not till 1927 that the union came to an end officially.

The Peseta was replaced by the euro (€) in 1999 on currency exchange boards. Euro coins and notes were introduced in January 2002, and from March 1, 2002, the peseta is no longer legal tender in Spain and Andorra. The exchange rate was 166.386 pesetas to the Euro (thus 3 Euros are approximately 500 P).

The 1948 one-Peseta note containing a rendition of the Lady of Elx.The name was derived from the Catalan word "peceta", meaning "little piece" (diminutive of "peça"). The peseta was a unit of currency in Catalonia until 1850.