Spain 2001 500 pesetas KM-924

from the Mountain Groan Collection

closeup of the latent image

This Spanish 500 pesetas was issued for circulation in 1993-2001. Cayón lists this type but not the 2001. Another 500 pesetas issued in 2001 honored the installation of milling equipment at the Segovia mint in the reign of Carlos II (KM 1131). The coin became obsolete on the adoption of the euro in 2002. The circle on the reverse above the "500" contains a latent image of the mintmark, best seen on the bottom image. Latent images on coins have been adopted by several countries as counterfeiting deterrents but the continuing decline in the number of coins circulating worldwide likely spells doom for this technology.

Recorded mintage: 3,330,000.

Specification: 12 g, aluminum bronze, 28 mm diameter, reeded edge, engraved by Manuel Martinez Tornero and Luis José Díaz Salas.

Catalog reference: KM 924, Cayón-unlisted.

Source:

• 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 Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 2001-Date, 13th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2018.

Link to:

• 1996 200 pesetas, Maestros de la Pintura
• 2001 25 pesetas, Order of the Golden Fleece
• 2001 80,000 pesetas, Segovia mint rehabilitation
• 2001 euro
• Coins and currency dated 2001