10 Pesos

El Banco Español de la Isla de Cuba issued this note in 1896 — three years into the catastrophic Ten Years' War's successor conflict, the Cuban War of Independence, with the island's colonial economy under serious strain. Spain was pouring resources into a failing military campaign, and the bank, which held a monopoly on note issue, faced mounting pressure to finance government obligations. Notes of this period circulated in an environment of deep public distrust, and many were exchanged at discount against specie.

The American Bank Note Company contract is worth noting: by the 1890s, ABNC was the dominant printer for Latin American and Caribbean colonial issues, and the engraving quality on this series is characteristic of their top-tier work from that decade. Cuban independence in 1898 rendered the bank's entire note issue obsolete almost immediately.