1 Peso Civic Square

Cuba's 1 Peso series of the mid-1950s straddles an uncomfortable historical seam. Batista had consolidated power by 1954, and the Banco Nacional — established only in 1950, replacing the U.S. Federal Reserve as the island's monetary authority — was still a young institution issuing notes under a regime whose days were already numbered. By the time the last dates in this run were printed, the Sierra Maestra campaign was well underway.

Thomas De La Rue's involvement is worth noting: the firm held Cuba's banknote contracts through the Batista period, a relationship that ended abruptly after 1959. Post-revolution issues moved to other printers entirely.