44 | Spanish Banknotes

Automatically generated translation

50 Pesetas. September 1, 1936. UNISSUED and Banco de San Sebastián. (Edifil 2023: NE39). Very rare, with minor tears in the margins. Extremely Fine-.

The conquest of northern Spain by the rebel troops was one of the first objectives once the Madrid and Aragon fronts stalled. Cut off from the rest of the Republic, Asturias, Santander, Vizcaya, and Guipúzcoa soon succumbed. With the border with France closed on August 9, the situation became more complicated because the Bank of Spain was unable to ship banknotes through the Basque Country (banknotes were normally transported by train). As throughout the Republican territory, various measures were implemented in Guipúzcoa to address the cash shortage. And, of course, beyond the requisitioning of local bank funds, the first thing on everyone's mind was issuing banknotes.

At the end of August 1936, the Finance Commission of the Gipuzkoa Authorities Board agreed with the Banks of Vizcaya, Urquijo, and Guipuzcoano to put into circulation vouchers for this purpose, secured by ten million pesetas in 500 and 1,000-peseta banknotes held by the Bank of Spain. The vouchers would be mandatory at least in stores supplying essential goods. The issuance of these vouchers was announced in the press on September 1. Given their poor voluntary acceptance, the mandatory circulation of the Biscayan vouchers was announced on September 10.

The tickets issued in San Sebastián during this period are extremely rare. Beyond the low volume of their issue and their limited commercial acceptance, their circulation was almost trivial, given that San Sebastián fell into rebel hands on September 13. Very few examples of these tickets are known (they can be counted on the fingers of one hand, with fingers left over), and they are always unsigned by the member and numbered.