Via Stellae II online auction #95

Tuesday, 23 April 2024 | Madrid, 16:00 CEST


51 | Spanish Banknotes

5 Pesetas. September 25, 1936. Generalitat of Catalonia. Series B. (Edifil 2021: 373, Pick: 592). Rare in this quality. EBC++. Encapsulated PMG58 (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, 2024, this bill is the fifth highest rated along with another bill in PMG).
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52 | Spanish Banknotes

500 Pesetas. September 1936. Artist's proof of the Generalitat of Catalonia Not issued and handcrafted from an artistic point of view. (Not cataloged in Edifil or Filabo). Very rare. Almost Uncirculated.
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53 | Spanish Banknotes

10 Pesetas. November 1, 1936. Santander Branch, pre-signature of Banco de Santander. No serie. (Edifil 2021: 376g, Pick: S582e). Very rare in this exceptional quality, original sizing, this is the rarest note in the issue. Good Extremely Fine. Encapsulated PMG55EPQ (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, 2024, this bill is the best rated).
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54 | Spanish Banknotes

10 Pesetas. November 5, 1936. Gijón Branch. No serie. (Edifil 2021: 381, Pick: S572). Very rare in this exceptional quality, original sizing. Uncirculated. Encapsulated PMG64EPQ (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, 2024, this bill is the cuarto highest rated along with another bill in PMG).
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55 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. November 5, 1936. Gijón Branch. No serie. (Edifil 2021: 382, ​​Pick: S573). Rare in this exceptional quality. Extremely Fine. PMG53 encapsulation.
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56 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Cents. 1937. Asturias and León. No serie. (Edifil 2021: 394, Pick: S601). Uncirculated.
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57 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Cents. 1937. Asturias and León. Without series and reverse without part of the background. (Edifil 2021: 394, Pick: S601). Uncirculated.
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58 | Spanish Banknotes

40 Cents. 1937. Asturias and León. No serie. (Edifil 2021: 395, Pick: S602). Uncirculated.
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59 | Spanish Banknotes

100 Pesetas. NOT ISSUED. January 1, 1937. Bank of Spain, Gijón. Without series and with double numbering 000025-000026, without the vignette on the back and without matrix. (Edifil 2021: NE31Pe). Very rare, small tear below the numbering on the right caused by the numerator itself, without any importance and indicated only for information purposes, Ramón Cobo in his work on paper money of state organizations indicates that it could be a test, he considers the numbering 000027-000028 (on the same ticket, just like the one offered). Very Fine.

The creation of banknotes of better quality than the stubs put into circulation since November 1936 was an obsession of the Interprovincial Council of Asturias and León. We have already discussed his story before and we will not delve into it now.

All 100 peseta banknotes from the failed Gijón issue of January 1937 are very rare. Normally the very few banknotes that are seen from this issue have a matrix and a printed reverse. On this occasion, the copy offered seems like a proof in which, in addition to the complete obverse, only the background of the reverse appears and not the design, but instead it shows what the numbering would be like, with six figures and the same font that was later used. in September 1937, an extraordinary fact from this unaired series.

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60 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. September 1937. Not issued (only the reverse of this value is known). Gijón branch. (Edifil 2021: NE29P). Unusual. Uncirculated.
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61 | Spanish Banknotes

50 Pesetas. NOT ISSUED. September 1937. Gijón Branch. Without series, with the matrix on the left and upper leaf edge that includes the marginal inscription "Sample Nº4". (Edifil 2021: NE33, Pick: S579). Very rare, matches the one photographed in the Filabo catalogue. Uncirculated.
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62 | Spanish Banknotes

5000 Pesetas. June 11, 1938. Without numbering and the Bradbury seal on the space intended for the cashier's signature. (Edifil 2021: NE35M, Pick: 92). Extraordinarily rare and very spectacular, in total no more than ten copies are known and all of them in the phases prior to the final issue that was never printed, without a doubt we are facing the most iconic banknote of the 20th century along with that of "The Lady of Elche", but the latter not as rare as the "Fortuny". EBC++. Encapsulated PMG58 (minor ink) (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, this note is the only one graded in PMG) (for information purposes we note that this copy that comes from the Bradbury archive does not show the mark of its assembly as most of the banknotes from the archive that do present it).

The first attempt to issue a banknote with a value above the legal limit of 1000 pesetas dates back to 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, in Republican territory. The need to put high denominations into circulation was covered by the issuance of the 500 and 1000 peseta banknotes of 1928, as well as the 500 pesetas of 1935 of Hernán Cortés. However, uncontrolled Republican inflation required moving the bar to values ​​never seen before. That is why the Bank of Spain, already moved to Barcelona, ​​commissioned the manufacturing of a 5,000 peseta banknote in April 1938 from the English company Bradbury, Wilkinson and Cº, with which Spain had been working since 1906.

The obverse of that banknote shows a portrait of the brilliant Catalan orientalist-style painter, Mariano Fortuny, painted by himself around 1873, shortly before he died. The reverse of the banknote reproduces the painting “The Vicariate”, painted in 1870 by Fortuny himself and whose engraving on the banknote we owe to the British Edward T. Dawson.

This copy of 5,000 pesetas from 1938 that we show comes directly from the archive of the English house Bradbury, Wilkinson and Cº, where it served as a reference and control.
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63 | Spanish Banknotes

100 Pesetas. August 15, 1938. Provisional note for 2 years not issued from the Bank of Spain, Barcelona. No serie. (Edifil 2021: NE37, Pick: 91). The issuance of this banknote was planned, originating in the Catalan branch of Barcelona, ​​which was printed in the Gráficas Reunidas workshops in Madrid, due to the vicissitudes of the Civil War, it was not issued and was destroyed, only Very few examples are known, the Edifil catalog mentions three color combinations. Uncirculated. Encapsulated PMG64 (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, 2024, this note is the cuarto highest rated along with three other notes in PMG).
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64 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. July 15, 1907. Without series and with the SPANISH STATE / BURGOS stamp. (Edifil 2021: 401, Pick: 62b). Very Fine.
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65 | Spanish Banknotes

50 Pesetas. October 12, 1926. Without series and dry stamp SPANISH STATE / BURGOS. (Edifil 2021: 406, Pick: 72b). Good Very Fine.
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66 | Spanish Banknotes

100 Pesetas. July 15, 1907. Without series and dry stamp SPANISH STATE / BURGOS. (Edifil 2021: 409, Pick: 64b). Very Fine.
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67 | Spanish Banknotes

1000 Pesetas. May 10, 1907. Without series and dry stamp SPANISH STATE / BURGOS. (Edifil 2021: 414, Pick: 61b). Rare, especially without any repair and retaining part of its original finish. Good Very Fine.
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68 | Spanish Banknotes

1000 Pesetas. July 15, 1907. Without series and dry stamps PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC / APRIL 14, 1931 and SPANISH STATE / BURGOS. (Edifil 2021: 415A, Pick 66b). Staple points at the top margin. Almost Very Fine.
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69 | Spanish Banknotes

Set of 10 Bank of Spain banknotes, all of them issued before 1928 and with various dry or rubber stamps, in different qualities. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO EXAMINE.
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70 | Spanish Banknotes

10 Pesetas. November 21, 1936. No series. (Edifil 2021: 418, Pick: 98a). Very rare in this quality. EBC+++. PMG58 encapsulation.
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71 | Spanish Banknotes

50 Pesetas. November 21, 1936. Series Q. (Edifil 2021: 420a, Pick: 100a). It retains all its original finish. EBC++. PMG58EPQ package.
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72 | Spanish Banknotes

500 Pesetas. November 21, 1936. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 422, Pick: 102a). Ripple that does not break the fiber, unusual in this quality, original finish. EBC+++. Encapsulated PMG58EPQ (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, 2024, this bill is the ninth highest rated along with two other bills in PMG).
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73 | Spanish Banknotes

5 Pesetas. July 18, 1937. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 424a, Pick: 106a). Unusual in this exceptional quality, original sizing. Almost Uncirculated.
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74 | Spanish Banknotes

1000 Pesetas. July 18, 1937. Not issued, with the original Cartevalori numbering and stamp "UNUSED". (Edifil: NE44, Pick: 106E). Extremely rare, very few known copies, staple points and repaired, without a doubt one of the rarest banknotes in the Spanish billet. Good Very Fine. PMG25 encapsulation (repaired, staple holes).

To talk about the failed 1937 issue of Cartevalori is to contemplate a magnetic story of mysteries, thefts, espionage and strange secret operations on the part of the printing press, the Bank of Spain and, of course, those who robbed the warehouses to put some into circulation. of those notes even before the Bank thought about it. And there are stories and specimens that have such a pedigree that it is impossible to get away from them. This is the case of this ticket.

Once Franco's first broadcast was resolved, that of November 1936, the rebel government set its sights on celebrating the first anniversary of the uprising. To do this, he turned to the unexpected C&C Banconote (the letters C hiding the Jewish surname Coen), an Italian printing company with no experience in the production of banknotes, although it did have experience in other purposes. The order, accepted by a very young Gualtiero Coen (also known as Rino Giori), was signed on August 1, 1937 and was extended on March 7, 1938. The Italian printing press had to manufacture 98 million banknotes of 25, 50, 100 , 500 and 1,000 pesetas in intaglio. But they did not have enough experience or machinery for that printing technique.

Without going into too many details, what happened was that the sample banknotes manufactured were not to the taste of the Board of the Bank of Spain, according to a communication from August 1938, so they were discarded by C&C. However, despite the security of the carabinieri, a 25 peseta bill of that issue appeared in the Bank of Spain branch in Bilbao on October 24, 1938, and a 1,000 peseta bill in Hendaye (France), two days later. after. The one thousand pesetas was the number A0.910.090. Skipping all the details about the discussions and investigations (which can be read in the Encyclopedia of Spanish Notaphilia and Scripophilia, Volume 4, Volume II), the fact is that on November 25 another suspicious bill appeared in the Bank of Spain agency in Tetuán, from the Spanish Credit Bank: number A0.910.089.

It is precisely this same copy at auction, a unique and exclusive document, whose story is worthy of a movie. We are faced with an authentic copy (manufactured by C&C) and numbered, although theoretically discarded. However, C&C neither crossed it out, as was its usual procedure, nor did it drill and burn it, as requested by the Bank of Spain. The “UNUSED” stamp that shows this copy on the front and back comes from the Bank of Spain after the seizure, so it is in itself another historical element of this copy.

Thus, we can see in this copy the only evidence we know of how the numbering on this very rare banknote was supposed to have originally looked like. Among other things, after the discovery of this same banknote, the Bank of Spain in Burgos decided to proceed with burning the consignment of banknotes that it had already received.

The discussion between the Bank of Spain and C&C escalated in January 1939 and was not settled until 1957.

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75 | Spanish Banknotes

2 Pesetas. October 12, 1937. Series B. (Edifil 2021: 426a, Pick: 105a). Very rare in this exceptional quality, original sizing. Uncirculated.
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76 | Spanish Banknotes

1 Peseta. February 28, 1938. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 427, Pick: 107a). Original sizing. Almost Uncirculated.
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77 | Spanish Banknotes

2 Pesetas. April 30, 1938. Series I. (Edifil 2021: 429a, Pick: 109a). Original sizing. Uncirculated.
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78 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. May 20, 1938. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 430a, Pick: 111a). Unusual in this quality, original sizing. Uncirculated. PMG64EPQ package.
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79 | Spanish Banknotes

50 Pesetas. May 20, 1938. Series E. (Edifil 2021: 431a, Pick: 112a). Extremely Fine.
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80 | Spanish Banknotes

500 Pesetas. May 20, 1938. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 433, Pick: 114a). Rare in this exceptional quality, original sizing. Uncirculated. Encapsulated PMG66EPQ (to give us an idea of ​​the rarity, as of March 1, 2024, this note is the cuarto highest rated along with fourteen other notes in PMG).
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81 | Spanish Banknotes

5 Pesetas. August 10, 1938. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 435A). AFRICA typographic overload, in red. Extremely rare, it retains all its original finish. Good Extremely Fine. It matches the one photographed at Edifil and the one auctioned at the Caja Madrid Auction.

The differentiation of money in circulation in some territories of a country is a mechanism originally designed to prevent capital flight and maintain sufficient cash in that area. A simple mechanism to accomplish this task is the use of stamps, wet or dry. A Ministerial Order of April 22, 1939 urged the stamping of the word “AFRICA” on the Francoist emissions of 1938, in theory with the justification of preventing smuggling in the Protectorate of Morocco, estimated at about 300 million pesetas. Only those could circulate in the region, preventing their illegal entry into the rest of Spanish territory. The idea for this project came from Juan Beigbeder Atienza, then High Commissioner of Spain in Morocco.

There was never any official regulation on the matter, only two proposals from the Ministry of Finance, and they were never put into circulation for fear of the drop in the price of the peseta in the Tangier area. Yes, some dies were engraved with the stamp and typographic stamping was carried out diagonally on the obverse of a series of banknotes. It is not clear if they limited themselves to creating a sample series or if millions of pesetas were actually stamped, because the survivors are minimal.

There are also forgeries of these stamps made using wet stamps in modern times. The original plates, as mentioned for letterpress printing, have a subtle pattern inside each letter precisely to make counterfeiting difficult; modern ink pads cannot reproduce it.
Needless to say, these authentic banknotes are extraordinarily rare, if not unique.
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82 | Spanish Banknotes

100 Pesetas. May 20, 1938. Series G. (Edifil 2021: 432a, Pick: 113a). AFRICA typographic overload, in red. Extremely rare, it retains all its original finish. Good Extremely Fine. It matches the one photographed at Edifil and the one auctioned at the Caja Madrid Auction.
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83 | Spanish Banknotes

500 Pesetas. May 20, 1938. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 433A). AFRICA typographic overload, in red. Extremely rare. Good Very Fine. It matches the one photographed at Edifil and the one auctioned at the Caja Madrid Auction.
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84 | Spanish Banknotes

Set of 2 proofs of 50 Pesetas from the back of a model Not Issued in 1939, in different colors. (Edifil 2021: NE47P). Almost Uncirculated/ Good Extremely Fine.
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85 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. January 9, 1940. Not Issued. Proof of the obverse in a non-definitive color and without numbering. (Edifil 2021: NE49P). Extraordinarily rare, previously mounted on cardboard. Almost Uncirculated.
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86 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. January 9, 1940. Proof of the obverse and reverse with a non-definitive color and with the numbering B1234567 (consecutive numbers). (Edifil 2021: 438P, 438Pa). Extraordinarily rare, previously mounted on cardboard. Almost Uncirculated-.
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87 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. January 9, 1940. Proof of the obverse and reverse with a non-definitive color and with the numbering B1234567 (consecutive numbers). (Edifil 2021: 438P, 438Pa). Extraordinarily rare, previously mounted on cardboard. Almost Uncirculated-.
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88 | Spanish Banknotes

25 Pesetas. January 9, 1940. Series E. (Edifil 2021: 436a, Pick: 116a). EBC++. PMG58 encapsulation.
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89 | Spanish Banknotes

50 Pesetas. January 9, 1940. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 437, Pick: 117a). Unusual. EBC++. PMG58 encapsulation.
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90 | Spanish Banknotes

Proof of the obverse of the 500 Pesetas bill issued on January 9, 1940, without numbering, without the cashier's signature and with a lithographic background. (Edifil 2021: 439Pa). Very rare and spectacular. Almost Uncirculated.
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91 | Spanish Banknotes

1 Peseta. June 1, 1940. No series. (Edifil 2021: 441, Pick: 121a). Unusual, it retains all its original finish. Almost Uncirculated.
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92 | Spanish Banknotes

5 Pesetas. September 4, 1940. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 443, Pick: 123a). Rare in this exceptional quality, original sizing. Uncirculated.
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93 | Spanish Banknotes

1000 Pesetas. October 21, 1940. No series. (Edifil 2021: 445, Pick: 125a). Unusual in this quality. Almost Extremely Fine. PMG45 encapsulation.
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94 | Spanish Banknotes

1 Peseta. May 21, 1943. No series. (Edifil 2021: 447, Pick: 126a). Original sizing. Uncirculated.
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95 | Spanish Banknotes

1 Peseta. June 15, 1945. Series L. (Edifil 2021: 448a). Original sizing. Almost Uncirculated.
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96 | Spanish Banknotes

5 Pesetas. June 15, 1945. No series. (Edifil 2021: 449, Pick: 129a). Original sizing. Uncirculated.
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97 | Spanish Banknotes

100 Pesetas. February 19, 1946. No series. (Edifil 2021: 451, Pick: 131a). Unusual. Uncirculated. PMG64 encapsulation.
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98 | Spanish Banknotes

1000 Pesetas. February 19, 1946. No series. (Edifil 2021: 453, Pick: 133a). EBC++. PMG58 encapsulation.
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99 | Spanish Banknotes

5 Pesetas. April 12, 1947. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 454a, Pick: 134a). Original sizing. Uncirculated.
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100 | Spanish Banknotes

100 Pesetas. May 2, 1948. Series A. (Edifil 2021: 456a, Pick: 137a). Original sizing. EBC+++. PMG58EPQ package.
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