Cuba's INTUR coinage was a parallel currency system designed to extract hard currency from foreign tourists while keeping them financially segregated from the domestic peso economy. These tokens circulated exclusively within INTUR-managed hotels, restaurants, and dollar shops — venues ordinary Cubans were legally barred from entering during much of the 1980s. The stainless steel variant of this type replaced an earlier aluminum-bronze issue, a materials shift driven by chronic metal supply constraints rather than any monetary policy decision.
Cuba's INTUR coinage was a parallel currency system designed to extract hard currency from foreign tourists while keeping them financially segregated from the domestic peso economy. These tokens circulated exclusively within INTUR-managed hotels, restaurants, and dollar shops — venues ordinary Cubans were legally barred from entering during much of the 1980s. The stainless steel variant of this type replaced an earlier aluminum-bronze issue, a materials shift driven by chronic metal supply constraints rather than any monetary policy decision.