IF YOU ARE still sitting on any of the €1.6 billion in pesetas that remain in circulation, you have another six months to change them into legal tender and spend them, the Spanish government has announced.
The final deadline was originally the last day of 2020, but because of problems with getting out and about due to the pandemic, this has been extended to June 30, 2021.
Deputy president and minister for the treasury Nadia Calviño says the remaining pesetas – which went out of use when the euro became Spain's currency in 2002 – are 'a major issue affecting individuals and tertiary sector companies', such as shops, bars and anywhere else that accepts cash from members of the public.
The €1.6bn in old money still 'out there' is equivalent to 266 billion pesetas, based upon a million pesetas being €6,000.
Several years would pass between the phasing out of the peseta and the public mindset switching to euros – many expats who moved to Spain up to five years after the the new currency was adopted may remember viewing potential new homes with a price in pesetas, and having to take a calculator whenever they spoke to a vendor.
This meant practically everyone could boast that their new house had cost them several million.
Any coins that were still in circulation as at January 1, 2002 can still be changed until the end of June next year, since those which were no longer legal tender on that date had already been given a cut-off of the beginning of 1997.
Peseta notes minted after 1939 can be changed, but those issued between 1936 and 1939 – the Civil War years – need to be examined by experts first.
Changing pesetas to euros involves contacting the Bank of Spain in Madrid or any one of its branches, and there is no upper limit on the amount that can be exchanged.
In theory, there is no lower limit either, except where the value of peseta coins are less than the smallest denomination in euros.
Sra Calviño calculates that around 45% of pesetas still in circulation will never be changed, because they are either in too poor condition to be recognised as such, or they have been kept by Spaniards or gone home with tourists as souvenirs.
It is likely that those who have only a couple of euros' worth of pesetas in a drawer somewhere will not bother to change them, given that their value as a keepsake is more to them than the small change they would receive from them.
Likewise, if people's pesetas barely cover the cost of travel to Madrid to change them, they will probably not bother, meaning it is almost certain that several million euros' worth of old money will still be 'missing' forever.
Anyone thinking of changing pesetas is advised to check with a specialist dealer or collector first, since many of the rarer or more sought-after coins and notes can be worth far more than their face value – up to €1,000 in some cases.
This is not even necessarily the case just with antique coins – some of those fetching up to €100 date back from as recently as 1995.
TWO of Spain's largest high-street banks are reported to be in merger talks, potentially resulting in the joint entity being the second-biggest in the country in terms of share capital.
THE average Spanish resident will spend between €500 and €1,500 on their holidays this year, with three in 10 set to increase their budget from last year and 16% reducing it.
SPAIN'S State post office has launched a new solution for passing travellers who do not want to lug their suitcases around: Lockers for bags are now provided, with prices depending upon weight.
