Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 500 Pesetas 1987-1990, KM# 831, Spain, Juan Carlos I
  • 500 Pesetas 1987-1990, KM# 831, Spain, Juan Carlos I
Obverse

Conjoined heads of Juan Carlos and Sofia left.

Juan Carlos I (born 5 January 1938) reigned as King of Spain from 1975 to 2014, when he abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe VI.

In 1969, Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator chose Juan Carlos, grandson of King Alfonso XIII, to be the next head of state, bypassing his father Juan de Borbón and expecting him to continue Franco's own authoritarian regime. Juan Carlos became King on 22 November 1975, two days after Franco's death, the first reigning monarch since 1931.

Queen Sofía (formerly Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, born 2 November 1938) is the wife of King Juan Carlos I. Born a Greek princess, she became Queen consort of Spain upon her husband's accession in 1975. On 19 June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of their son, Felipe VI.

JUAN CARLOS I Y SOFIA
•1988•

Reverse

Depicts the facial value and the coat of arms of Spain. Mint mark: crowned M.

The Spanish coat of arms is composed of six other arms: castle of Castile, lion of León, stripes of Aragon, chains of Navarre, pomegranate flower of Granada and fleur-de-lis of the House of Bourbon. The escutcheon represents the currently reigning dynasty Bourbon-Anjou.

On either side of the coat of arms are the Pillars of Hercules, the mythological name given to the Straits of Gibraltar. The banner round the pillars is the national motto of Spain "Plus Ultra" which means "further beyond" in Latin, referring to the Americas and the former Spanish territories. Over the pillars are two crowns, one an Imperial Crown and the other a Royal Crown. King Charles I of Spain was also the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, hence the Imperial Crown.

M
500 PESETAS
PLUS ULTRA
ESPAÑA

Edge

Milled with 16 designs of alternating joined rings and a crown (8 of each).

500 Pesetas

KM# 831 Schön# 59
Characteristics
Material Aluminium Bronze
Weight 12 g
Diameter 28 mm
Thickness 2.8 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Royal Spanish Mint (FNMT-RCM)

Related coins

Aluminium Bronze, 11.9 g, ⌀ 28 mm