50 Centavos José Martí, Pattern

Cuba's 1953 coinage program marked the centennial of José Martí's birth, producing both circulation issues and a number of pattern pieces that never entered production. This 50 centavos pattern falls into the latter category — approved designs that stalled before striking orders were finalized, likely casualties of the political turbulence surrounding Batista's consolidation of power after his March 1952 coup.

The KM#N/C attribution confirms it remains uncatalogued in the standard Krause reference, typical of Cuban pattern material from this period, much of which surfaced through the Philadelphia Mint's involvement in producing Cuban coinage under contract.