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10 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 (1872-1892) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black, green, and dark red, the obverse carries a central agricultural vignette with cultivated fields and palm trees in the background, alongside a female allegorical figure holding tobacco leaves and resting against a beehive, symbolizing Cuban agricultural industry. The denomination and issuing authority appear in letterpress text within a formal typographic layout. The date of issue, Habana, 21 de Marzo 1881, is printed in the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 10 EL BANCO ESPAÑOL DE LA HABANA á la presentación de este billete pagará al portador DIEZ PESOS fuertes en efectivo. Habana, 21 de Marzo 1881 (Translation: The Spanish Bank of Havana Upon presentation of this note, the bearer will be paid Ten Pesos fuertes in cash. Havana, March 21, 1881.) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Español de la Habana was established by royal decree in 1856 as the sole bank of issue for Cuba, then still a Spanish colony, and operated under persistent tension between Madrid's fiscal demands and the realities of a colonial economy dependent on sugar revenues and enslaved labor. Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement reflects the standard metropolitan practice of contracting London security printers for colonial currency — the plates never left England, and notes were shipped in bulk to Havana for issue.
The 1872–1892 dating range for P#20 reflects reissue across a politically unstable period that included the Ten Years' War's aftermath and the buildup to the final Cuban independence struggle. Notes from this series frequently show heavy tropical wear; Cuba's humid climate was particularly destructive to paper currency in active circulation.