Franco 2 Pesetas

The 2 Pesetas coin under Franco's regime was one of the first in Spain to use aluminum exclusively, a practical choice amid postwar shortages that kept costs down and production high.

That shift began in 1947, with the coin featuring a simple design: the Spanish coat of arms on one side and the denomination on the other. Minted at the Madrid facility, these pieces were struck in vast numbers, though exact figures for some years remain murky due to incomplete records from the era. We know production peaked around 1953, but specifics like daily output are lost to time.

Aluminum gave the coin a notably light feel, which some handlers found amusingly insubstantial. Beyond that, variations in edge lettering appeared in later years, reflecting minor design tweaks as materials stabilized. While myths persist about hidden messages in the minting, I've yet to see evidence of any.