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10 Pesos Colossus of Rhodes
| Issuer | Cuba |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
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| Currency | Cuban Peso (moneda nacional, 1914-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse depicts a stylized representation of the Colossus of Rhodes, the giant bronze statue of the sun god Helios, shown standing astride the entrance to a harbour over open waters. A circular legend runs close to the coin's periphery, with the inscription MARAVILLAS DEL MUNDO ANTIGUO arcing along the upper border and COLOSO DE RODAS along the lower border, both separated by decorative star devices. The date 1997 and mintmark appear to the right of the central device. |
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| Reverse lettering | * MARAVILLAS DEL MUNDO ANTIGUO * 1997 * * COLOSO DE RODAS * * (Translation: Wonders of Ancient World 1997 Colossus of Rhodes) |
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| Additional information |
Part of Cuba's long-running "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" series, this issue belongs to a program that ran through the late 1990s and was produced primarily for the international collector market rather than domestic circulation — hard currency was effectively absent from everyday Cuban economic life under the peso convertible system of that decade. The series was minted under contract and sold through foreign distributors, making Cuban government coffers the primary beneficiary.
The Colossus itself stood at the entrance to Rhodes harbor for roughly 54 years before collapsing in the earthquake of 226 BC — never rebuilt, despite an offer of restoration funds from Ptolemy III of Egypt, which the Rhodians declined on the advice of an oracle.