Catalog
5 Pesos First Joint Space Flight
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de Cuba |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980 |
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| Currency | Cuban Peso (moneda nacional, 1914-date) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The Salyut 6 space station is depicted in orbit above the Earth, rendered in detailed relief against the background of space. A circular legend along the upper periphery reads URSS CUBA, with a five-pointed star enclosed within a circle serving as a decorative device between the two country names. The commemorative inscription PRIMER VUELO ESPACIAL CONJUNTO arches along the lower periphery, identifying the celebrated event. The date 1980 and a mintmark appear in the lower field beneath the central motif. |
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This piece commemorates the July 1980 mission of Soyuz 38, which carried Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez alongside Soviet commander Yuri Romanenko to the Salyut 6 space station. Tamayo Méndez became the first person of African descent and the first Latin American to reach orbit — a propaganda victory Havana milked extensively in print, postage, and coinage alike.
Cuba's commemorative silver program of this period was produced primarily for foreign hard-currency sales rather than domestic circulation, given the island's chronic shortage of convertible currency in the post-1959 economy.