Banknotes and Coins
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Until when can pesetas be changed into euro at the Banco de España?
Pesetas can be changed into euro at the Banco de España free of charge indefinitely.
Public Opening Hours, identification and exchange period -
Can all peseta-denominated banknotes and coins be changed?
No. As a general rule, peseta banknotes issued after 1939 can be changed. Those issued before then have to be examined by Banco de España experts to determine their value.
Only the most recently minted coins, which were placed in circulation in 1997, and all commemorative 2,000-peseta coins, can be changed.
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Does the Banco de España change foreign currency?
No, the Banco de España does not change foreign currency into euro. The agreement between the euro-area central banks to exchange the old banknotes of all euro-area countries was only effective until 31 March 2002. From that date the euro legacy currencies must be changed in their respective countries of origin.
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Does the Banco de España provide numismatic
services? Can mint euro coins produced in Spain and sets of coins
from other euro-area countries be purchased?
The Banco de España does not sell to collectors either mint euro coins produced in Spain or complete sets from the other euro-area countries. However, the Spanish National Mint does have a special numismatic service (see www.fnmt.es (english version)
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Which non-euro-area countries have
adopted the euro and have minted their own coins with the respective
national side?
Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City have agreements with the EU under which they have adopted the euro as their monetary unit and minted their own euro coins with a distinct national side. These coins, like those of the twelve euro-area countries, are valid throughout the euro area.
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What happens to banknotes and coins
withdrawn from circulation?
Banknotes cannot be recycled because of the dyes used in their production. Therefore, when withdrawn from circulation, they are shredded and converted into compressed paper cylinders called briquettes, which are then buried in controlled landfills.
Coins, however, can be recovered for industrial uses which depend on the metal alloy of which they are made. The Spanish National Mint awarded to various companies by public tender the metals used in the old peseta coins. Once melted down, the 1-peseta coins can be used, among other things, to make beer barrels. The other silver-coloured coins (10, 50 and 200 pesetas) are used to make cooling pipes, and the gold-coloured coins (5, 25, 100 and 500 pesetas) are used to make ship propellers.
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What are the rules on the reproduction
of euro banknotes and coins?
The total or partial reproduction of banknotes denominated in euros is authorised in the following cases:
- one-sided reproductions, provided that the size of the reproduction is at least 125% of both the length and width or at most 75% of both the length and the width of the respective euro banknote, as specified in Article 1 of European Central Bank Decision ECB/2003/4 of 20 March 2003;
- two-sided reproductions, provided that the size of the reproduction is at least 200% of both the length and width or at most 50% of both the length and width of the respective euro banknote, as specified in Article 1 of European Central Bank Decision ECB/2003/4;
- reproductions of individual design elements of a euro banknote, provided that such a design element is not depicted on a background resembling a banknote;
- one-sided reproductions depicting a part of the front side or reverse side of a euro banknote, provided that such a part is smaller than one third of the original front side or reverse side of the banknote;
- reproductions made of a material clearly different from paper, which looks distinctly different from the material used for banknotes;
- intangible reproductions made available electronically on websites, by wire or wireless means or by any other means that allow members of the public to access these intangible reproductions from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, provided that the resolution of the electronic reproduction in its original size does not exceed 72 dpi (dots per inch) and the word SPECIMEN is printed diagonally across the reproduction in Arial or a similar font. The length and height of the word SPECIMEN must be at least 75% of the length and 15% of the width, respectively, of the reproduction. The word SPECIMEN must be in an opaque colour contrasting with the dominant colour of the reproduced banknote.
In general terms, reproductions which the general public might mistake for genuine euro banknotes shall be deemed unlawful.
The reproduction of coins in the form of medals or any other metallic object that may be mistaken for a coin is not permitted. They may be reproduced on flat surfaces or in relief objects other than coins, medals, tokens or any other object that might be mistaken for a coin. They may also be reproduced in soft materials or plastics, provided than their size is 50% larger or smaller than actual size.
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What should be done when a counterfeit banknote is detected?
The law requires counterfeit banknotes to be withdrawn from circulation. Specifically, credit institutions, money changers and other entities whose business involves the handling and delivery to the public of banknotes and coins are required by law to withdraw from circulation and deliver without delay to the Banco de España any banknotes and coins received by them that "they know or reasonably believe to be counterfeit".
Failure to comply with this obligation is a serious administrative infringement that can lead to a fine from €30,000 to €1 million.
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Is there an upper limit on payments that have to be accepted in coins?
Yes. EU legislation and the Ministerial Order on the minting of Spanish euro coins stipulate that a private party does not have to accept more than fifty coins in any given individual payment. This ceiling of fifty coins per payment does not apply to public cashiers, who have to accept any number of coins.
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Can a commercial establishment refuse
to accept a €100, €200 or €500 banknote as payment?
Article 3.2 of Law 46/1998 on the introduction of the euro provides that "euro-denominated banknotes and coins shall be the only legal tender in Spain". The fact that a certain currency is legal tender means that no payment of any debt can be refused if offered in banknotes and coins of that currency.
Consequently, the use of euro banknotes is not subject to any limitation or legal constraint. Therefore, the imposition of prior restrictions on the use of certain high-denomination banknotes does not seem to conform with the euro's status of legal tender.
However, it should be noted that, under Article 7.1 of the Civil Code, one's rights must be exercised in good faith, meaning that euro banknotes should be tendered in consonance with the amount to be paid. Nevertheless, in no case can the use of certain denominations to pay a debt be rejected on the basis of a prior restriction.
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How is the amount of banknotes and coins produced in Spain decided?
Since the creation of the single currency, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank has had the power to decide the volume of euro banknotes to be issued each year. The national central banks in the euro area are responsible for putting these banknotes into circulation.
The European Central Bank also has the exclusive right to approve the volume of coins to be issued by the Member States that have adopted the euro as the single currency.
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How can a euro banknote produced in Spain be distinguished?
Each euro-area country producing euro banknotes (all except Luxembourg) has a letter assigned to it which precedes the number on the euro banknotes it produces (V in Spain). However, this letter does not denote the central bank that put a given banknote into circulation. This is particularly so from 2003, because production now takes place under a decentralised pooling scheme and each national central bank is responsible for producing only one or two denominations which are then distributed among the other central banks.
The letter is made even less significant by the redistribution of stocks for logistical reasons and the flows of banknotes carried throughout the euro area by tourists, since the banknotes can be put into circulation or "recirculated" by any of the twelve central banks regardless of the country in which they were originally produced.
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Is it planned to change the design
of the euro banknotes to cater for the countries that will join the
euro area? What about the coins? Can national governments freely change
the national sides of their countries' coins?
The renewal of the euro banknote design is a possibility that will have to be addressed when a new issue is prepared. No date has yet been set for this.
As regards coins, national governments can redesign the national side of their countries' coins four years after they were put into circulation, i.e. from 2006.