Catalog
100 Pesos
| Issuer | El Tesoro de la Isla de Cuba |
|---|---|
| Year | 1891 |
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| Value | 100 Pesos |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents two large intaglio vignettes flanking the central text panel: at left, a standing shepherd figure in classical attire holding a staff, and at right, a seated allegorical female figure. The centre carries the heading EL TESORO DE LA ISLA DE CUBA above the denomination CIEN PESOS in bold letterpress, with an orange guilloche underprint bearing the numeral 100. The Spanish royal arms appear at the bottom centre, with serial numbers Nº repeated on both upper corners and fine engraved border work throughout. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a two-colour scheme of grey-black intaglio and orange underprint, centred on a large octagonal guilloche medallion with an orange allegorical female bust. Two oval cameo vignettes, each bearing a helmeted classical head in profile, are positioned to the left and right within elaborate engine-turned lathe-work borders. The denomination CIEN PESOS appears in an arched ribbon at the bottom, and the legend TESORO DE LA ISLA DE CUBA runs across the top. |
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| Comments |
El Tesoro de la Isla de Cuba was the colonial treasury apparatus of Spanish Cuba, issuing notes under metropolitan authority rather than through a conventional colonial bank. By 1891, Cuban public finances were already strained by the costs of suppressing the Ten Years' War's aftermath and servicing debts tied to the 1878 Zanjón settlement — the note exists partly as a consequence of that fiscal burden.
Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. held extensive Latin American printing contracts throughout the late nineteenth century. Their intaglio work on Cuban treasury paper of this period is technically assured, though the series is better known among collectors for signature varieties than for printing curiosities.