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50 Pesos Temple of Artemis
| Issuer | Cuba |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 155.5 g |
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| Obverse description | The Cuban national coat of arms occupies the central field, featuring the royal palm, a rising sun, and a fasces bound with a Phrygian cap, surrounded by a wreath of oak and laurel branches. The country name REPUBLICA DE CUBA arcs along the upper legend, while the face value 50 PESOS appears in the lower legend. The coin's weight designation 5 OZ and fineness AG 0.999 are inscribed in the side fields flanking the arms. The design, adapted from the standard obverse used on related issues such as KM#594, was engraved by Charles Edward Barber. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Cuba's hard-currency commemorative program of the 1990s was driven almost entirely by the dollar shortage following the Soviet collapse — these large-format silver pieces were sold directly to foreign collectors and never intended for domestic circulation. The series targeting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World gave the mint a reliable export product through the worst years of the Special Period.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, the final structure razed by the Goths in 268 AD. What remained was systematically quarried for building material; the British Museum's surviving column drum fragments were excavated by John Turtle Wood in 1869 after six years of searching.