This is a pattern strike, never released for general circulation. Cuba's early 1990s coinage program coincided with the "Special Period in Time of Peace" — the severe economic contraction triggered by the Soviet Union's collapse, which eliminated Cuba's subsidized oil supply almost overnight. Currency reform and new coinage designs were being actively considered precisely because the existing monetary system was under acute pressure.
The nickel brass plated steel composition was itself a cost-reduction measure being tested across several denominations during this period.
This is a pattern strike, never released for general circulation. Cuba's early 1990s coinage program coincided with the "Special Period in Time of Peace" — the severe economic contraction triggered by the Soviet Union's collapse, which eliminated Cuba's subsidized oil supply almost overnight. Currency reform and new coinage designs were being actively considered precisely because the existing monetary system was under acute pressure.
The nickel brass plated steel composition was itself a cost-reduction measure being tested across several denominations during this period.