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5 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 (1872-1887) |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Pesos |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black, green, and pink on white paper, the obverse carries a central allegorical vignette of a crowned female figure wearing a pearl necklace and holding a harp and scroll, emblematic of music and the arts, executed in the fine-line intaglio style characteristic of Bradbury Wilkinson engraving. The denomination and issuing authority are set within the principal legend, framed by elaborate guilloche underprint work, with the place of issue reading Habana. The date field is left partially blank for manuscript completion, consistent with the partial-dating practice employed throughout this series. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, presenting a plain paper surface entirely devoid of vignette, lettering, or decorative elements, in keeping with the production practice adopted for this issue by Bradbury Wilkinson. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Español de la Habana occupied an unusual position: a nominally Spanish colonial institution that also functioned as the sole bank of issue for Cuba, with its notes circulating alongside Spanish Treasury bills during a period of chronic fiscal instability on the island. The 1870s and 1880s were particularly fraught — the Ten Years' War had ended in 1878, leaving Cuba's economy badly disrupted and public confidence in paper currency fragile at best.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the entire P#19 series in London, a common arrangement for colonial issuers who trusted British security printers over local production. The notes were shipped to Havana for use, which occasionally created supply problems during periods of poor transatlantic communication.