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The 1937(36) Second Spanish Republic bronze 50-centimos coin struck in Madrid has a mintage of 1,000,000. It is 23mm in diameter and weighs 5.8 grams. The main device on the obverse of the 1937(36) 50-centimos is identical to the obverse of the 1933(34) 1-peseta coin. It features Hispania seated on a plinth holding an olive branch. The reverse features a circle of beads encircling the number 50 centimos. The engraver of the coin is José Eusebio Espinós Gisbert.
There are two major reverse die varieties of this coin. The first KM-754.1 has round beads encircling the reverse number 50 centimos. The second, KM-754.2 has square beads encircling the number 50 centimos. There is yet another variety to this coin and that is the authorization date without the six-pointed stars on either side. These star-less coins are considered to be date-less. It is interesting to note that the year of manufacture (1936) is earlier than the year of authorization (1937).
The Second Spanish Republic coming to power on April 14, 1931, started governing with the best of intentions. Their first task was to craft a new constitution. While this constitution permitted the democratic values of freedom of speech and women’s suffrage, people used the freedom of religion clause to persecute the Catholic Church.
During the period of time leading up to the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the political environment of Spain was in a constant state of flux. With different political coalitions coming to power on a regular basis it seemed like anarchy ruled the day. This combined with high unemployment, poverty, and a poor economy, the landscape was ripe for a civil war. A coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic was effectively repelled on July 17-18, 1936. However, the republic was severely weakened and ultimately failed to fend off the rise of nationalism under fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
Sometimes the Spanish Civil War is referred to as, “The dress rehearsal for World War II.” This given how the battle lines were drawn was not a difficult argument to make. On the side of the republicans were the Spanish provinces Basque Country and Catalonia with foreign support from the Soviet Union, Mexico, and France. On the side of the nationalists were the Carlists, Renovación Española which advocated for the return of Alfonso XIII to the throne, and the FET y de las JONS (political party of Francisco Franco) among others. Direct foreign support came from Nazi Germany and Italy. Indirect support came from Portugal and diplomatic support from the Holy See.
In the end, the Second Spanish Republic fell to the nationalists and Francisco Franco came to power as Spain’s dictator on April 1, 1939. The government of the Second Spanish Republic went into exile in Mexico where it maintained an embassy. It officially disbanded in 1977 after the death of Francisco Franco and the introduction of democracy by King Juan Carlos I of Spain.