1 Peso Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Pattern

Cuba struck a series of pattern coins in 1977 testing designs and compositions ahead of a planned coinage reform that would take years to fully materialize. This nickel piece honoring Carlos Manuel de Céspedes — the sugar plantation owner who freed his slaves and launched the Ten Years' War in 1868 — was part of that experimental run, never approved for circulation. Pattern survivors entered collections primarily through state-sanctioned channels, as Cuba's controlled numismatic export system meant very few left the island through private means.