Catalan Generalitat 1936-1939 1 Centimo

This 1 Centimo coin from the Catalan Generalitat was struck in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, using bronze planchets likely recycled from pre-war Spanish currency to keep the economy afloat in besieged Catalonia.

That decision reflected the region's desperate improvisation. Factories in Barcelona churned out these coins in 1937 and 1938, with designs featuring a simple wheat sheaf and the Generalitat's insignia—nothing fancy, just practical.

Mintage figures are murky; records may have been destroyed in the conflict. Still, examples that survive often show wear from actual circulation, not just display cases.

Some numismatists quip that these coins changed hands more times than the territories they represented.