69 | Spanish Banknotes

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1000 Pesetas. July 18, 1937. Color proofs of the unissued coin, front and back. (Edifil: NE44P, Pick: 106Epd1, 106Ep2). Extremely rare and highly spectacular. Extremely Fine/Extremely Fine-. Encapsulated PMG50 (minor stains)/45 (minor stains).

The failed 1937 Cartevalori issue, with its many stories and anecdotes, is a cult object for notaphiles. The extremely few surviving pieces make any of these papers unique or nearly unique pieces of extremely difficult collection. On this occasion, we have one of the very few color samples of the front and back of the thousand-peseta banknote. In fact, we only know of three (beyond those showing the final colors), and with notable differences: speaking only of the front (the backs are all different and always in three colors), we have this proof offered to you: another monochrome one in green with a black vignette, and the third with a border in black tones, multicolored backgrounds in red and green, and a portrait in blue.

After correcting the unforgivable error in Marteen Pepijn's vignette, Cartevalori completely changed the design and incorporated a portrait of Emperor Charles V. This proof without backgrounds is undoubtedly the oldest of the proofs known to us. This is so for several reasons: first, the final design is indeed multicolored, as in one of the other proofs, but not like this one, where three different ones were used independently (greenish gray for the borders, green for the cartouche, and red for the denomination), in a certainly ill-advised combination; second, this proof lacks backgrounds, while the other known ones do, suggesting greater maturity in the design process; and third and finally, this proof uses a portrait of the Spanish monarch based on Titian's painting "Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg," a closer look, without an oval border, and curiously more faithful than the one finally used on the banknote, and whose vignette coincides with the one used in the other two proofs. But there is also a very interesting detail that adds greater historical value to this color proof: the imprint reads "Coen & C Banconote Milano (Italia)," while the rest of the thousand-peseta proofs include the legend "C & C Banconote Milano (Italia)," as does the reverse of this and all the proofs. The Marteen Pepijn banknote proofs read "Calcografia Carte Valori Milano (Italia)," an earlier denomination. In fact, only the 1-peseta banknotes from 1937 are signed "Coen," which gives us an idea of the manufacturing and design sequence of all these proofs. This change was intended to conceal the Jewish origin of the owners of the Italian printing press because, following pressure from Nazi Germany, the Italian fascists began enacting anti-Semitic laws in 1938. The surname Coen (Cohen in other countries and other variants) comes from Hebrew, where "kohen" means priest; Curiously, the Coen partners were surnamed Sacerdoti, which is nothing more than another way in which the same surname was attempted to be concealed in Italy).

Thus, this example we offer is probably the oldest known example of this design on the front of this failed banknote, which makes it even more interesting if possible.