Catalog
5 Pesos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Cuba |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949-1950 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette is an oval portrait of Máximo Gómez rendered in intaglio against a finely worked guilloche underprint in orange. The serial number appears in red at left, with the red circular seal of the Banco Nacional de Cuba also positioned on the face. The note is printed in black and orange, with the denomination and guarantee clause inscribed in full. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Cuban coat of arms is set within a circular frame at center, surrounded by a fine guilloche pattern. The country name arcs across the top, while the face value appears in both numerals and letters at the left and right extremities. The legal tender clause is inscribed in full across the lower portion of the reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional de Cuba was only established in 1948, replacing the previously dollar-dominated monetary arrangement under which Cuba had no true central bank of its own. This note belongs to the very first series the institution issued — printed by ABNC under contract before Cuba had developed any domestic printing capacity.
The choice of an American firm to print Cuba's inaugural sovereign currency carried an irony that later history made sharper. Within a decade, the political relationship that made such an arrangement unremarkable had collapsed entirely.