Time is Running Out to Trade Pesetas for Euros

Time is Running Out to Trade Pesetas for Euros

€1.641 billion worth of pesetas are still out there

It might not feel like it’s been this long, but it was back on January 1^st 2002 – over 15 years ago – when Spain switched from pesetas (which dated back to 1869) to euros. Even though the peseta was no longer considered legal tender just a few short months afterwards, there are still millions of them to be found across Spanish households.  Perhaps they are being saved for a rainy day, or out of a sense of nostalgia.

From 1^st July, 2002, pesetas could only be traded for euros with the Banco de España (Bank of Spain). However, many people weren’t so keen to get rid of the retired currency, affectionately known as “La Rubia” – the blonde. The peseta was held on to by so many people that, some five or six years ago, a rural village in Spain fell on such hard times that the peseta was re-introduced to boost the local economy.

That was then though, and this is now. The clock is now ticking on the peseta. If you still haven’t traded your pesetas for euros then you should get a move on, as the Banco de España will stop exchanging them as of the 31^st of December, 2020.

The Banco de España say that some €1.641 billion worth of pesetas is still flowing through the country – breaking down to €842 million in notes and €799 million in coins – which is over 273 billion pesetas. The bank estimates that 45% is either still in the hands of Spanish residents, or it belongs to those who visited the country before 2002.