[puh-sey-tuh; Sp. pe-se-tah] 
[-tuh
z; Sp. -tahs] . | 1. | a bronze coin and monetary unit of Spain and Spanish territories, equal to 100 centimos. Abbreviation: P., Pta. |
| 2. | a former silver coin of Spain and Spanish America, equal to two reals; pistareen. |
| 3. | a former monetary unit of Equatorial Guinea: replaced by the ekuele in 1973. |
| pe·se·ta (pə-sā'tə) n. The primary unit of currency in Spain and Andorra before the adoption of the euro. [Spanish, diminutive of peso, peso; see peso.] |
peseta
former monetary unit of Spain. The peseta ceased to be legal tender in 2002, when the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union, was adopted as the country's sole monetary unit. In 1868 the peseta replaced the peso, which had been adopted in the 15th century and which was known in full as the peso de ocho ("piece of eight"), as Spain's currency. (The peso continues to be the monetary unit of many former Spanish colonies in North and South America.) Initially the peseta was established in anticipation of Spain's joining the Latin Monetary Union, which was created in 1865 and linked the currencies of France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, and later Greece; however, Spain eventually chose not to participate.
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