Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Peso
| Issuer | Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1872-1883 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pre-Republic (1870-1898) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central vignette of a seated allegorical female figure holding a bouquet of flowers, set against a harbour scene with sailing vessels and industrial buildings in the background. Large numeral "1" counters appear at left and right flanking the vignette, with the issuer's name "EL BANCO ESPAÑOL DE LA HABANA" in bold letterpress across the lower central field above the denomination tablet "UN PESO". Serial number, date, place of issue "HABANA", and the signature of El Gobernador appear in manuscript in the lower portion, with decorative lace-style guilloche borders framing the entire face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO ESPAÑOL DE LA HABANA UN PESO HABANA EL GOBERNADOR |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco Español de la Habana was the sole authorized bank of issue in Cuba during the colonial period, operating under a royal charter that gave it a near-monopoly on credit on the island. This note falls within the years of the Ten Years' War's aftermath and the subsequent Chica War — chronic instability that repeatedly undermined confidence in paper instruments issued from Havana. The bank's notes circulated uneasily alongside Spanish treasury obligations, and redemption in specie was more promise than practice for much of this period.
The National Bank Note Company, which printed this series, ceased independent operations in 1879 when it merged into the American Bank Note Company — meaning later dates in the 1872–1883 range were almost certainly fulfilled by the successor firm using inherited plates.