50 Pesos

El Banco Español de la Habana was the dominant colonial banking institution in Cuba, operating under Spanish authority during a period when the island's sugar economy was generating enormous cash flows that demanded reliable high-denomination instruments. The National Bank Note Company — better known for its early U.S. federal currency contracts — printed this series in New York, which was standard practice for Spanish colonial issuers who lacked domestic printing infrastructure capable of the engraving quality required for fraud deterrence.

The "186x" dating reflects an undated or partially dated plate, with the final digit left blank or hand-completed at issue — a convention that allowed a single plate to serve across multiple years without re-engraving.