Spain. New Silver Proof and Colour Coins Mark International Women’s Day and Prominent Author

Launched in 2021, the series focuses on outstanding Spanish women and their contributions to various societal disciplines such as literature, education and medicine. For 2026, the series features Almudena Grandes (1960 – 2021) fondly remembered as a very popular contemporary author, bestselling novelist, newspaper columnist, radio commentator and outspoken critic in her homeland. She became the main literary voice of a mass movement to recover her country’s historical memory. Grande’s numerous novels established her as one of the most widely read authors of contemporary Spanish fiction. A fierce opponent of fascism and the Franco era, Grandes embarked on the ambitious project of a series of six novels to record the forgotten struggles and suffering of anti-Franco fighters, especially women. Five of the six works were published, selling more than 1.3m copies between them.

Born in Madrid as one of four children and raised into a middle class family, she was an awkward and overweight child who from a very young age dreamed of becoming a writer. She studied geography and history at Madrid’s main university, and was part of the generation that came of age in the new post-1975 restoration of democracy of the country’s new head of State, King Juan Carlos. Grandes and her contemporaries plunged into the youth explosion of freedom following the grey, repressed years of the Franco dictatorship. After graduation she worked as a writer of encyclopaedia texts. The research and time limits gave her the discipline to write. Her 1990’s novels were mainly stories of young women finding their feet in the whirlwind of 80s Madrid. Grande’s work is known for frequently addressing themes such as identity, personal relationships, collective memory, and the recent history of Spain. In addition to her work as a novelist, she was a regular columnist for the national press. During her 30 year career as a novelist, six of her 13 novels have been made into films, including The Ages of Lulu, with the well-known actor Javier Bardem being cast in his first starring role.

Sadly, her life and career was cut short when Grandes was diagnosed with cancer in 2020. She publicly disclosed her diagnosis in October 2021 through a column in El País newspaper, explaining that she had been fighting the disease for the previous year. She died in November 2021 at the age of 61 and was survived by her husband, the poet Luis García Montero, whom she married in 1996, their daughter Elisa and her son Mauro, from a previous relationship.

The reverse side of the coin features a three-quarter front facing portrait of Almudena Grandes placed to the right side. To the left of the portrait, along the upper rim is the text Almudena Grandes and just below, the denomination 10 EURO. On the left half is the biological symbol representing the female gender and within, an opened and closed book in reference to Grandes’ literary works. Just to the lower right of the symbol is the crowned M mintmark of the Madrid Mint. Along the lower rim and below the primary design is the additional inscription 8-M DÍA INTERNACIONAL DE LA MUJER. (8 March International Women’s Day) The obverse side includes an effigy of HM King Felipe VI facing to the left along with the legend FELIPE VI REY DE ESPANA with the year of issue, 2026 placed below the king’s likeness.

Available from the 9th March, each coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please visit the e-webshop of the Real Casa de la Moneda.