Spain 1957(68) 50 pesetas
This specimen was lot 31484 in Heritage sale 3049 (Long Beach, September 2016), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "Francisco Franco 50 Pesetas 1957(68) MS65 NGC. Produced for sets, this date carries the smallest mintage figure for the series--as well as a significant premium. Totally blast white, with cartwheel luster that sweeps the surfaces, crisply-defined design illustrations, and only flyspeck marks noted within the fields. Gem, and scarce as such." This type was struck for circulation 1958-60, 1967 and 1971 plus 1968-70 and 1972-75 for sets only. After Franco's death, this module was used until 1984, then the fifty pesetas was reduced to 5.6 g in 1990. Although the coin is dated 1957, the true minting date is incuse in the star on the reverse, where a tiny "68" can be spied. Spain was the only country to do this and abandoned this clumsy system after 1982, during the reign of Juan Carlos.
Recorded mintage: 1,000 (sets only).
Specification: 12.35 g, copper-nickel, 30 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Cayón-17882, KM 788.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World Coin Auction 3049, featuring the Ohio Valley Collection, the Redwood Collection and the F.P. Briand Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2016.
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