If you have decided to become a numismatist, that is, a person who studies and collects coins and medals, the first thing to know is that a coin is only really valuable if it comes with a certificate of authenticity, and if valuations come with a full refund guarantee to protect you against forgeries. You should also be aware that if you are collecting as an investment, coins can be valued by their weight in precious metals or by their rarity value. Rarity of a coin can be due either the low number of coins originally minted or the low number of coins surviving.

 

A little bit of history
So now you know the basics you can start to collect. But first we should take a historical look at the peseta.
When and how was the peseta born? In 1868 general Prim led the military coup known as La Gloriosa which would lead to Queen Isabel II�s exile in France. A provisional government was then set up with Laureano Figuerola y Ballester as Finance Minister who, by the Decree of October 19, 1868, created a new national currency for Spain: the peseta.

 

Until that time there had been no fewer than 97 coins in circulation, including the real, the maraved� and the escudo. From King Carlos III�s decree in 1772 (one of his so called pragmatic sanctions) until the monetary Law of June 1864, there had been seven different monetary systems.

 

After the coup, the profile of Isabel II on the coins was replaced by a matron (Hispania) reclining on the Iberian peninsular, holding an olive branch in her right hand. In the first series of the peseta no gold coins were minted, only silver and bronze.

 

Silver 5, 2 and 1 pesetas coins were struck, as well as 50 and 20 centimo pieces, while bronze was used for the 10, 5, 2 and 1 centimo coins. Of these bronze coins the ten and the five centimo pieces were the most popular, and were known as the perra gorda and perra chica respectively, (literally fat dog and little dog, apparently because of the strange figure of a lion which appeared on one side of the coins).

Since its inception the peseta has remained the unit of the Spanish monetary system right up to its replacement by the euro, on January 1st this year.

 

Collectors� pieces
It is never too late to take up numismatics. Some coins are more significant than others because of the moment in history when they were struck, because of what they represent, or because of some strange story surrounding their origin. If you want to be the envy of other collectors of pesetas, try to get hold of this collection below:

� 1869. First official peseta, minted by the revolutionary authorities of 1868.
� 1876. First peseta of the Restoration, with the profile of King Alfonso XII.
� 1885. The peseta de patillas (or the sideburns peseta), with the effigy of Alfonso XII, known as such because the engraver, possibly by mistake, cut the royal profile in such a way that the royal sideburns stood proud of the rim of the coin. This caused the coin to suffer from very rapid wear. This piece very rarely comes on to the market so nowadays it can be worth more than 600 euros.
� 1891. Peseta depicting Alfonso XIII when he was two years old and hairless.
� 1893. Peseta depicting Alfonso XIII when he was seven years old with ringlets.
� 1896. Peseta depicting Alfonso XIII when he was 10 years old with a quiff.
� 1903. Peseta depicting Alfonso XIII finally come of age, at 16 years old, dressed as a cadet.
� 1934. First peseta of the Republic, minted three years after it was proclaimed.
� 1937. Republican peseta in the time of the civil war, which people called a rubia (a blondie), because it was made of a golden coloured copper nickel alloy.
� 1937-1938. Cardboard disks were put into circulation during the civil war due to the shortage of metal, since the weapons factories needed metal to make cartridge cases.
� 1944. First one peseta coin of the Franco era, which did not yet bear the general's head.
� 1947. Profile of Franco designed by the sculptor Mariano Benlliure, which at first suffered the same problem as Alfonso XII's sideburns, but was later rectified.
� 1966. Profile of Franco as an old man, designed in copper nickel by Juan de �valos. It is interesting to see how the general�s moustache changes over the years, becoming less severe with the passage of time.
� 1975. First peseta depicting Juan Carlos looking left, the opposite way to his predecessor, the dictator.
� 1980. Peseta depicting King Juan Carlos. Democracy has been consolidated but the old shield still remains.
� 1980-1982. Last rubia (copper nickel coin) struck to celebrate the football World Cup held in Spain.
� 1982-1989. Peseta which returned to its traditional silver colour, though it contained no silver. The alloy used for pesetas was changed to aluminium.
� 1989-2002. The last peseta of all time, the smallest ever made.

 

Where to get old coins?
Every Sunday dozens of collectors, traders and hangers on congregate in Madrid�s Plaza Mayor to swap, buy and sell old coins. However, you cannot always be too sure of the authenticity of what is being sold. So perhaps a better idea is to get in touch with an association of collectors near where you live. They will be able to give you advice and clear up any doubts you might have.

� Asociaci�n Numism�tica Espa�ola (A.N.E.).(Spanish Numismatic Association).
� Casa de la Moneda. (Royal Mint) Madrid.
� Asociaci�n Ib�rica de Numism�tica.(Iberian Numismatic Association) Madrid.
� Asociaci�n Numism�tica de Sabadell. (Sabadell Numismatic Association) Barcelona.
� Amigos de la Casa de la Moneda de Segovia. (Friends of the Segovia Mint).