1 Peso Centennial of 'Guerra Necesaria'

José Martí launched the "Guerra Necesaria" — the Necessary War — in February 1895 after years of organizing from exile, deliberately timing the uprising to prevent Cuba from becoming economically absorbed by the United States before it could achieve independence from Spain. He was killed at Dos Ríos just three months later, making this centennial issue a commemoration of a war its architect never lived to see concluded. The Empresa Cubana de Acuñaciones produced these primarily for the collector market rather than circulation.