Cuba's dual-currency system, formalized in the early 1980s, created two parallel series of exchange certificates: the 'A' series for socialist-bloc visitors and the 'B' series for travelers from capitalist countries. The 'B' notes commanded access to dollar-priced goods in the INTUR shops and Diplotiendas — hard-currency retail outlets closed to ordinary Cubans holding pesos. The political logic was explicit: capture foreign exchange without giving holders any pricing parity with domestic currency.
Státní Tiskárna Cenin, the Czechoslovak state security printer, produced the Cuban FX series throughout this period — an arrangement that reflected Havana's close institutional ties with Prague rather than any particular technical requirement.
Cuba's dual-currency system, formalized in the early 1980s, created two parallel series of exchange certificates: the 'A' series for socialist-bloc visitors and the 'B' series for travelers from capitalist countries. The 'B' notes commanded access to dollar-priced goods in the INTUR shops and Diplotiendas — hard-currency retail outlets closed to ordinary Cubans holding pesos. The political logic was explicit: capture foreign exchange without giving holders any pricing parity with domestic currency.
Státní Tiskárna Cenin, the Czechoslovak state security printer, produced the Cuban FX series throughout this period — an arrangement that reflected Havana's close institutional ties with Prague rather than any particular technical requirement.