Catalog
300 Pesos Spanish Administration
| Issuer | Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857-1859 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on white paper. The central composition incorporates a locomotive vignette, an anchor, shovel, bale, and barrel as emblems of commerce and industry. To the left, a seated bare-breasted allegorical figure of Habana holds a shield, accompanied by a cornucopia; to the right, a seated allegorical figure of Spain holds a spear beside a crowned shield and a lion with its paw resting on a globe, with masts of sailing ships in the background. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Habana, 24 de Setbre. de 1959 El Banco Español de la Habana á la presentación de este billete pagará al portador Trescientos pesos fuertes en efectivo. $300 HABANA $300 (Translation: Havana, September 24, 1857. The Spanish Bank of Havana upon presentation of this note, the bearer will be paid Three Hundred Pesos fuertes in cash.) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Español de la Habana was established by royal charter in 1856 as Cuba's first chartered bank, created in part to stabilize colonial finances strained by the costs of maintaining Spanish authority on the island. Bradbury Wilkinson had only recently opened their New Malden works when this commission was taken, and the 300 Peso denomination — an unusually large face value for early colonial banking — was aimed squarely at commercial and mercantile transactions rather than everyday use.
Surviving examples are genuinely rare. The bank's early years were troubled, and note redemption was inconsistent enough to draw formal complaints from Havana merchants by the early 1860s.