25 Centavos

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.