Catalog
25 Centavos
| Issuer | El Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1872-1876 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Centavos (0.25) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark blue-black intaglio on a toned paper ground, with a fine guilloche underprint bearing repeated bank name text. The upper border carries the legend VEINTE Y CINCO CENTAVOS flanking a central «25», while the left-centre vignette presents the crowned Royal Spanish coat of arms resting on a globe with maritime attributes. To the right, a large lathe-work guilloche circle encloses the numeral «25»; the main text reads EL BANCO ESPAÑOL DE LA HABANA / A LA PRESENTACION DE ESTE BILLETE / pagará al portador / VEINTE Y CINCO CENTAVOS / en efectivo, with the date Habana 1° de Julio de 1872, a handwritten signature under the title EL DIRECTOR, and the imprint Compañía Nacional de Billetes de Banco, Nueva York along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | VEINTE Y CINCO CENTAVOS EL BANCO ESPAÑOL DE LA HABANA SERIE F A LA PRESENTACION DE ESTE BILLETE pagará al portador VEINTE Y CINCO CENTAVOS en efectivo Habana 1° de Julio de 1872 EL DIRECTOR Compañía Nacional de Billetes de Banco, Nueva York |
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| Comments |
El Banco Español de la Habana was the sole bank of issue in colonial Cuba during this period, operating under close supervision from Madrid. These small-denomination fractional notes emerged from a chronic shortage of hard currency on the island — a problem that plagued Cuba throughout the 1860s and 1870s as the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) disrupted commerce and drained coin from circulation.
The National Bank Note Company of New York was among the most technically accomplished security printers of the era, responsible for early U.S. federal currency. Their involvement here reflects the limited capacity of Spanish colonial infrastructure to produce credible fiduciary paper domestically.