The old Peseta still alive

Question

More than 60 shops in Mugardos, a small fishing town in Galicia on Spain's northern coast, are accepting the peseta again for all purchases, alongside the euro.

It is an attempt to get cash registers ringing - and help lift the town out of a long and painful economic slump.

Shopkeepers were sceptical at first, but they now say the scheme is a great success.

People are travelling into Mugardos from outside just to spend the old currency they never got round to converting.

One man visited the local hardware store this week with a 10,000-peseta note he had found at home, and had no idea what to do with.

He is now the happy owner of a sandwich toaster.

The euro was introduced here in January 2002.

Spaniards then had another three months to exchange their old currency at any bank.

That cash can still be converted today, but only at the Bank of Spain itself, and it says a staggering 1.7bn euros ($2.4bn) of cash is still unaccounted for - stashed, perhaps, then forgotten; piles of coins that slipped down the backs of sofas; or even big notes kept by collectors.

Would you like your old currency back?

I would like my money back that I lost in the stock market Ian. - amykay, Mar 5, 2011

I would like to gather all of the money in my home that was brought back after adventures around the world. Who knows, we could probably have a nice dinner on the town if we would convert it all into dollars. - Nicole-B, Mar 5, 2011

@amykay - join the club. Next time round I am going to be a banker. - ian-hill, Mar 5, 2011

@Amy - I hope you stayed in the market because by now you should have recovered your loses and even made some by now - 005faa61, Mar 6, 2011

@Ian - 10K for a toaster, what a deal! .... What are pesetas worth now? - 005faa61, Mar 6, 2011

Answer 1

Would you like your old currency back?

Pienso que eso depende mucho del país de origen de la persona que preguntas. Aquí en Alemania, mucha gente contestaría "¡Si, claro, viva la D-Mark!". En Grecia, Portugal e Irlanda la respuesta probablemente será muy diferente...

I just wish the euro wasn't so ugly and there was a little bit more variety in the coins. I still have to read them to tell them apart. - rabbitwho, Mar 6, 2011

Answer 2

This is interesting information Ian. Thanks for sharing.

piles of coins that slipped down the backs of sofas;

It is amusing to me that coins between cushions is a shared worldwide experience.

Along with "lost socks" - ian-hill, Mar 5, 2011

Yes, that is the worst! Where do all of those socks go? - Nicole-B, Mar 5, 2011

@Nicole: Have you not seen that episode of Ren & Stimpy? Scientific enough for me! :) - cristalino, Mar 6, 2011

Answer 3

Solia ir a la playa en Cadiz para comprar una litrona de cruz campo por una peseta. ¡Que cerveza!

Sounds like a bargain. Una ganga - ian-hill, Mar 5, 2011