1237 | Spanish Banknotes

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20 pesetas. (1939ca). Specimen (reverse). Piece of enormous importance, it informs us of the existence of the possibility of printing a 20 Pesetas bill by the Bank of Spain, a numerary never printed. Almost Uncirculated.

The precious copy of 20 Pesetas (on a background of 100 Pesetas) that is offered is a fantastic document of the technical capacities of the Italian printer C&C, since it is a fully printed proof on the back, with dimensions of 17.3 cm. x 11 cm, adhered on a cardboard of 26.8 cm x 18.2 cm.
The name with which the copy is signed, C&C Banconote Milano (both
in the imprint as on the cardboard), was used on the July 1937 and 1 Peseta 1938 issues. Similar variants of the name including Carte Valori Coen were used on the same dates. The presence of the Francoist coat of arms makes it possible to reduce the range of dates from March 1938 to around the end of the Civil War. If we look closely, we will see that it is the exact same design used in the 1938 pesetas. This coat of arms was also used in the 1940 issue, but, for those banknotes, Cartevalori greatly retouched the design, providing it with shadows and reliefs. , which allows us to affirm, without fear of being wrong, that the plate of the shield was the same as that of the 1938 pesetas.

After the military conflict, the Francoist government decided, despite the failure of the July 1937 issue, to continue to rely on the Coens' Italian printing press, but the 1940 issue is already signed with the name they would adopt from then on, Calcografia & Cartevalori, which, together with the previous comment about the coat of arms, allows the test to be delimited to the period between the two issues of 1938 and 1940.

The denomination used in this specimen is very striking, 20 (presumably pesetas, but there is no obverse to corroborate it), a denomination never used in Spain, if we except values in cents of the coin-stamps and some local bills from the Civil War. . Nor was it a common denomination in Italy, used a few times in the 19th century and only once in the 20th century. It is likely that the justification for this figure eludes us, although the Swiss influence of the 20 Francs can be speculated. In any case, the quilted bottom of 100 is very striking, an engraving with a relief effect, a type of decoration not widely used and reminiscent of the Germanic watermarks of the time. The abundant use of geometric motifs for the background and that double coloration speak to us of mechanical rather than artistic works, and probably represent a rehearsal of what they would already perform firmly in the 1940 broadcast.

It is almost impossible to date this test exactly or to know its origin, although it is possible to suspect a sample prepared to impress the Francoist government around 1939 or early 1940. But one can also think of a sample made in 1938 for the execution of work on banknotes. divisional and for which the Franco government requested prices and suggestions from a large number of Spanish and foreign printers. According to the Encyclopedia of Spanish Notaphilia and Escripofilia, Volume 1, there is no record in the Banco de España archive of any contact with the Italians at that time on this subject, but it is true that some participants presented proposals for 1 , 2, 5, 10 and 25 pesetas, being able to fit this 20 Pesetas in a similar offer. That would circumscribe the test to a restricted time window from March to July 1938, which would be consistent with the use of the same shield plate.

The copy is completely printed on paper and is adhered to a rough dark cardboard with the name of the Italian printer, and it is in a truly admirable state of conservation, resulting in an extraordinary graphic document that is unique and of great beauty.

We thank Jose Antonio Castellanos Vargas for his collaboration in the historical contextualization of this extraordinary and historical piece of Spanish notaphilia.