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50 Centavos
| Issuer | Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1872-1876 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centavos (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EL BANCO ESPAÑOL DE LA HABANA SERIE L Á LA PRESENTACION DE ESTE BILLETE pagará al portador Cincuenta Centavos en efectivo. Habana, 1º de Julio de 1872. EL DIRECTOR 50 CINCUENTA CENTAVOS 50 Compañía Nacional de Billetes de Banco |
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| Variants | P#32a - 01.07.1872 P#32b - 15.05.1876 |
| Comments |
The Banco Español de la Habana occupied an unusual position — it was a Spanish colonial institution operating in Cuba but routinely contracting American security printers for its paper issues. The National Bank Note Company, active in New York until 1872, produced this series before being absorbed into the American Bank Note Company merger that consolidated much of the U.S. banknote industry that same year. The plates likely remained in use after the merger, which explains the issue dates extending to 1876 despite the printer's nominal dissolution.
Cuba was deep in the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) during this period, and Spanish colonial finances in Havana were under considerable strain. The microtext underprint — a security measure NBNC employed across multiple colonial and foreign contracts — was considered cutting-edge anti-counterfeiting technology for the early 1870s.