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500 Pesos
| Issuer | El Banco Español de la Habana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1867-1868 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Peso Fuerte (1826-1899) |
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| Obverse description | Black on green underprint with an allegorical vignette at top center showing a seated female figure accompanied by an Indian and a lion, surrounded by symbols of commerce. Multiple signature varieties exist. |
|---|---|
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| Comments |
El Banco Español de la Habana was the dominant colonial banking institution in Cuba, operating under a royal charter from Madrid. The 500 Peso denomination was the highest value in this 1867–68 series, placing it firmly in the realm of commercial and government transactions — retail circulation for a note this size was essentially nil in 1860s Havana.
American Bank Note Company printed the series from its New York facilities, a common arrangement for Latin American and Caribbean colonial issuers who lacked local security printing infrastructure. ABNC's involvement does not indicate any U.S. financial authority over the notes — the contractual relationship was purely technical.
Surviving high-denomination examples from this issue are genuinely rare; the bank's operations were severely disrupted by the outbreak of the Ten Years' War in October 1868.