1874 1000-peseta banknote: what it is and what to do if you have one

If you have in front of you a banknote that reads EL BANCO DE ESPAÑA, 1000 PESETAS, and the date July 1, 1874, this is what you have: the banknote cataloged as Pick-5 and Edifil 263.

It is part of the July 1, 1874 issue: the first issue following the decree of March 19, 1874, which gave the Bank of Spain the monopoly on issuance.

Here you have who or what appears on it, how to distinguish it from those that look like it, how to check if yours is original, and what to do if you want to sell it. You won't find prices: I'll explain why further down.

Alonso Cano: who is the face on this banknote

Alonso Cano (Granada, 1601 - 1667) was a painter, sculptor, and architect, all three at once and at a level that almost no one else reached in the Spanish Baroque. The façade of the Granada Cathedral is his work, as is much of the religious imagery that is still carried in processions in Andalusia.

He does not appear alone on the banknote: he shares the obverse with Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and the arts, in full body. The combination is deliberate—the total artist under the protection of intelligence—and it was reserved for the highest-value banknote of the entire 1874 issue.

Banknote factsheet