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CC 519 2024
Blister pack
Proof
Proof blister
Spain · 200 years of the Spanish National Police
Mintage7,500
Issue price€25.00
Issue date2 Feb 2024
PackagingBlister pack
Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted
Market price€26.90
Issue occasion
The coin commemorates the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Policia Nacional, the national police force responsible for security throughout the national territory. The design features its emblem, framed by the inscription “ESPANA - POLICIA NACIONAL 1824-2024”; the mint mark, a crowned “M”, is located at the bottom right.
The design
The design shows the emblem of the Policia Nacional, framed by the inscription “ESPANA - POLICIA NACIONAL 1824-2024”. The mintmark, a crowned “M”, is located at the bottom right next to the emblem. The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the coin’s outer ring.
Background on the topic
The starting point for the anniversary is a royal decree issued by Ferdinand VII on 13 January 1824, which established the “Policía General del Reino”. At that time, Spain was in a period of political restoration: following the end of the liberal constitutional regime from 1820 to 1823, Ferdinand VII had restored his absolutist rule. The new police organisation was intended to prosecute offences and monitor public order, but it also served to control political opponents and liberal movements.
The present-day authority did not emerge unchanged from this foundation. Spain’s police system was reorganised repeatedly during the 19th and 20th centuries; responsibilities, designations and structures changed along with the political systems. During the Franco dictatorship, these included the Policía Armada as a uniformed police force and the Cuerpo General de Policía for investigative and surveillance tasks. As part of the transition to democracy, these structures were reformed.
The National Police received its present organisational form through the 1986 law on the security forces. In this process, the predominantly plain-clothes Cuerpo Superior de Policía and the uniformed Policía Nacional were merged to form the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía. The authority is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. Its duties include the issuing of identity cards and passports, border and foreigner controls, criminal investigations, and combating terrorism and organised crime. In addition, the militarily organised Guardia Civil constitutes another state police force; there are also regional and municipal police forces.
The anniversary therefore refers to the historical beginnings of a centrally organised state police force, not to an authority structure that has existed unchanged since 1824. The choice of this subject for the coin places institutional continuity across different forms of government at the forefront. At the same time, the anniversary falls in a present in which the police carry out their duties on the basis of the democratic constitution and laws governed by the rule of law.
The present-day authority did not emerge unchanged from this foundation. Spain’s police system was reorganised repeatedly during the 19th and 20th centuries; responsibilities, designations and structures changed along with the political systems. During the Franco dictatorship, these included the Policía Armada as a uniformed police force and the Cuerpo General de Policía for investigative and surveillance tasks. As part of the transition to democracy, these structures were reformed.
The National Police received its present organisational form through the 1986 law on the security forces. In this process, the predominantly plain-clothes Cuerpo Superior de Policía and the uniformed Policía Nacional were merged to form the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía. The authority is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. Its duties include the issuing of identity cards and passports, border and foreigner controls, criminal investigations, and combating terrorism and organised crime. In addition, the militarily organised Guardia Civil constitutes another state police force; there are also regional and municipal police forces.
The anniversary therefore refers to the historical beginnings of a centrally organised state police force, not to an authority structure that has existed unchanged since 1824. The choice of this subject for the coin places institutional continuity across different forms of government at the forefront. At the same time, the anniversary falls in a present in which the police carry out their duties on the basis of the democratic constitution and laws governed by the rule of law.