1 Peso Spotted Eagle Ray

Cuba's 1994 fauna series was produced specifically for the collector export market, generating hard currency at a time when the collapse of Soviet subsidies had plunged the island into the "Special Period in Time of Peace" — a prolonged economic crisis that gutted food supplies and fuel imports simultaneously. These colorized issues were never intended for domestic circulation and were sold primarily through European numismatic distributors.

The nickel-plated steel substrate with applied color was an economical production choice for a mint operating under severe resource constraints.