100 Pesetas – Spain

In 1966, Spain's currency situation was defined by the peseta operating under a tightly controlled and protectionist economic framework established by the Franco dictatorship. The regime maintained a system of multiple exchange rates and strict capital controls, insulating the economy from international market pressures. The official parity was set at 60 pesetas to the US dollar, but this rate was largely symbolic for trade; in practice, a complex web of fixed rates applied to different transaction types (e.g., tourism, essential imports, financial flows). This system aimed to conserve scarce foreign reserves, subsidize key imports, and protect domestic industry, but it also fostered a significant black market for currency where the peseta traded at a substantial discount.

Economically, this period fell within the latter years of Spain's "Spanish Miracle," a phase of rapid industrialization and growth from 1959 to 1974. The 1959 Stabilization Plan had liberalized some aspects of the autarkic model, paving the way for foreign investment and tourism, which became crucial sources of hard currency. However, the currency regime remained fundamentally rigid. The Bank of Spain held exclusive authority over exchange operations, and the peseta was not a convertible currency on international markets. This control allowed the government to manage the balance of payments but created distortions, inefficiencies, and opportunities for arbitrage.

The situation in 1966 was one of underlying tension between a booming, modernizing economy and an increasingly anachronistic financial system. While growth was strong, the rigid exchange controls and multiple rates were seen by technocrats within the regime as obstacles to full integration with the expanding European economy. Pressure for eventual liberalization was building, setting the stage for future reforms. The system would remain largely intact until the 1970s, when economic crises and the political transition to democracy forced a series of devaluations and a move toward a single, more realistic exchange rate.