Souvenir Peso Type II, Date closely spaced

The Souvenir Pesos of 1897 were produced not by any Cuban government but by American entrepreneurs capitalizing on public fascination with the Cuban independence struggle against Spain. Struck privately in the United States, they were sold as keepsakes to a domestic audience following intense press coverage — much of it Hearst-driven — of the ongoing insurrection. The "closely spaced date" designation distinguishes a specific die state from the more common widely spaced variant, a detail that matters considerably to series collectors.