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500 Pesos
| Issuer | El Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857-1859 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Pesos |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on pink paper. A central vignette at top centre presents an allegorical seated female figure accompanied by a Native American Indian, a lion, and commercial symbols. Multiple signature varieties are known for this issue. |
|---|---|
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| Comments |
El Banco Español de la Habana was the first chartered bank in Cuba, established by royal decree in 1855 with Spanish metropolitan backing. These high-denomination notes circulated during a brief window when the colony actually had a functioning central bank — the institution collapsed under mismanagement and was liquidated in 1867, barely a decade after opening.
At 500 pesos, this was not a note that passed through ordinary hands. Colonial Cuba's plantation economy ran on credit instruments and merchant ledgers at this level; retail use was essentially impossible.
Surviving examples are rare. The bank's failure meant redemption and destruction were chaotic, but the short circulation life also means many notes were never worn — they were simply voided when the institution folded.