Description and research notes
A fully issued 500 reales vellón banknote from Banco de Zaragoza dated 14 May 1857, Serie C, serial number 08785. Classified as Pick S453a, this is the circulation-authorized form of the denomination. Issued Zaragoza notes of this type are among the rarest survivors of Spain’s provincial banking era; nearly all original circulation was redeemed and destroyed during the consolidation of banknote issuance in the latter 19th century.
The Banco de Zaragoza operated from 1857 until its absorption into the Banco de España in 1874, following the brief period of liberalized private note issuance created by the 1856 banking law. The bank issued a structured series of reales de vellón: Serie A = 100 reales, Serie B = 200 reales, Serie C = 500 reales, Serie D = 1000 reales, Serie E = 2000 reales, Serie F = 4000 reales. Because most circulation notes were redeemed and destroyed during the national centralisation of currency issuance, genuine issued examples—especially in higher denominations—are exceptionally rare.
Pick S453a is distinct from the specimen (S453s) and remainder (S453r) varieties. The engraving matches precisely the S453s full-sheet specimen, including the Madrid-school coat of arms, scrollwork, acanthus border structure, and typographic elements. The serial number 08785 places this note within the same emission block as the full-sheet specimen numbered 08703, confirming plate linkage and original production sequence.
Rarity is extremely high. PMG lists only one graded example for S453a, but this listing aggregates notes from multiple provincial banks and does not confirm Zaragoza attribution. No Zaragoza-issued 500 reales vellón notes are recorded in major Spanish auction archives, suggesting that only a handful of true S453a-issued examples may survive worldwide. This piece, with clear signatures, strong detail, and well-preserved surface, qualifies as R8.
This issued note pairs with the full-sheet specimen S453s (Serie C No. 08703) retained in the collection (see item 'spain-1857-banco-de-zaragoza-500-reales-serie-c-08703-specimen-full-sheet'), together documenting both the production and circulation forms of one of the rarest provincial emissions in 19th-century Spain.