An Impressive 1850s Remainder for the Banco de Bilbao

As we are putting the finishing touches on the November 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction – World Paper Money (an auction that will offer more than 1,200 lots of world paper money over two days), a remainder note from Spain caught my eye. This 4000 Reales de Vellón is identified as Pick-S256r and is believed to have been produced circa 1859. It has a serial number no signatures nor a date. This denomination is printed on vivid blue paper stock uncommon among Spanish commercial bank issues of the late 1850s and immediately stands out. It is the highest of six denominations in the series. While the 12th edition of the Pick catalog pictures several of the lower denominations, it does not picture the 4000 Reales de Vellón. The design is dramatic and attractive, with a mining scene on one side, a smelting scene on the other, and an allegorical woman at the center. We have only offered a few remainders of this series, and of that select group, this is by far the nicest of this highest denomination, surpassed in the PMG population report by just a single finer example. This is an attractive and important note for the city of Bilbao, and we will explore this more in this blog post.

Bilbao is a Spanish coastal city in the northern part of the country, close to the French border and the Bay of Biscay. The traditional founding date of the city of Bilbao is given as 1300 AD, when a Castilian noble by the name of Diego López V de Haro made the small village of Bilbao a town. Over the next few centuries, the city grew rapidly, and soon established itself as the primary trading port of the region. While the first half of the 19^th century was not without its problems (a Napoleonic invasion and a civil war would cause problems for any city), Bilbao continued to be of considerable importance for the economic growth of the region. It was here then that in 1857 a group of local merchants and industrialists decided to found the Banco de Bilbao with a capital of 8 million Reales, subscribed by some of the most important citizens of the city.  The bank soon grew in importance and today lives on as the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA (BBVA), one of the largest banking institutions in the world.

But exactly what currency is this note in? We must look at the complicated Spanish economic system prior to the introduction of the Peseta in 1868 for an answer. The Reales de Vellón was a currency in Spain that reflected the long coexistence of silver and base-metal currencies. Originating in the late Middle Ages, the term Vellón referred to coins made from a billon alloy of silver and copper. These circulated alongside full silver issues known as Reales de Plata Fuerte. By the 17th century, the Reales de Vellón had become an accounting standard rather than a precise weight of metal, generally valued at slightly less than a silver real. The distinction between the two reflected ongoing attempts by the Spanish crown to manage inflation and stabilize a complex bimetallic system. Even as later reforms under Charles III and Charles IV sought uniformity, the Reales de Vellón remained common in ledgers and on coinage until Spain adopted the decimal Peseta in 1868. As such, several commercial banks, including the Banco de Bilbao, issued notes denominated in Reales de Vellón even as the system was in its final years.

While consignments for the November sale are already closed, we are always accepting consignments for future sales. To get the consignment process started, please contact Dennis Hengeveld at [email protected] or call 800-458-4646.